PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September
17, 2008
OHIO’S COASTWEEKS 2008 OBSERVES
INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEANUP DAY SEPTEMBER 20
World’s
largest one-day volunteer effort to clean up coastlines and waterways slated
for this Saturday
TOLEDO, OH
– Last year more than 1100 volunteers plucked 25,000 pounds of
trash from beaches and tributaries along Lake Erie’s shoreline during Ohio’s Coastweeks program.. The
Ohio Lake Erie Commission, again, is encouraging individuals to participate
this year at cleanup events taking place this Saturday, September 20 during International Coastal Cleanup Day, which
is the world’s largest one-day volunteer effort to cleanup coastlines and
waterways.
The Commission is Ohio’s
coordinator for the cleanup program
and, in Ohio, the focus is cleanup events
along Lake Erie’s shoreline and within
its watershed.
Five
cleanup events are scheduled this coming weekend along Lake Erie at Mentor
Lagoons Beach in Mentor, OH; Arcola Creek MetroPark in Madison Township, OH,
Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve in Huron, OH; East Harbor
State Park at Lakeside-Marblehead, OH and at Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve
Barrier Beach, Huron, OH.
Please
read below for information on these cleanup locations. Also, visit the
Commission Web Site for up-to-date cleanup information and to contact the
individual coordinator for the cleanup of your choice at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/oleo/cw/events08.html
This weekend’s Coastweeks
2008 Events Include:
Saturday, September 20
8:30
a.m. Mentor Lagoons and Beach
Cleanup! Clean up activities
will take place along the shores of Lake Erie.
Volunteers can choose to cleanup areas along the shoreline, the Lagoons or the
Nature Preserve along the bluffs or the pathways. Volunteers should park near
the trail head for the nature preserve & meet us in front of the Mentor
Lagoons & Nature Preserve park office (8365 Harbor Drive, Mentor)
anytime from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. After that the sign-in will be at the west
end beach. For questions, contact Bonnie Rice via email: rice@cityofmentor.com
9:00 a.m. Arcola Creek MetroPark. Volunteer
and help make Arcola Creek's beach and Estuary park litter-free. Meet at Arcola
Creek MetroPark, North end of Dock
Road in the parking lot. A picnic lunch provided
for all volunteers. Pre-registration required: 440-466-8722 or via email: avocet@roadrunner.com
9:00 a.m. International Coastal Cleanup at Old Woman Creek! We
will clean up our waterway and record our findings. Last year we made a big
difference and picked up almost 600 pounds of interesting items. Help make our
waterways cleaner. Meet at the Old Woman Creek Dormitory at 2005 Cleveland Road E, by the boat house,
Huron or call 419-433-4601 for directions.
10:00 a.m. East Harbor Trash Attack! Come out and see
for yourself what washes up at this state park shoreline! Last year nearly 77
pounds of trash was picked up and disposed of properly. Be part of our trash
attach team, meet at the East Harbor State Park, 1169 N. Buck Road, at the camp
store parking lot, Lakeside, to register and receive cleanup materials.
NOON: Sheldon Marsh
Barrier Beach
Cleanup! Hey you late risers, still time help out the shoreline
and stamp out an environmental footprint. Last year a group of 10 volunteers
picked up more than 120 pounds of unfriendly items on this beach. Be part of
this cleanup and meet at the Sheldon Marsh Preserve parking lot, 2715 Cleveland Road West,
Huron. For questions contact Steve Harvey via email: steve.harvey@dnr.state.oh.us
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission is a state
agency created to preserve Lake Erie’s
natural resources, enhance its water quality and promote economic development
in the region. The director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources
serves as the commission’s chairman. Additional members include the
directors of the departments of transportation, development, health,
agriculture and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The commission also oversees the Lake Erie
Protection Fund, which is the source of grant funding supported by Ohioans each
time they purchase a Lake Erie license plate displaying the Marblehead
Lighthouse or renewing their Toledo Harbor Lighthouse plate, both designed by Ohio artist Ben
Richmond.
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For Further Information Contact:
Edwin Hammett, Ohio
Lake Erie Commission
(419) 245-2514