Alliance for the Great Lakes
For Immediate Release
Friday, September 26, 2008
Volunteers Clear Beachs in Record Numbers at September Cleanup
Participation in the Alliance for the Great Lake's annual September Adopt-a-Beach™ cleanup hit a record high this year with thousands of volunteers turning out to clear shorelines during the one-day event on Sept. 20.
In Illinois alone, more than 3,100 volunteers showed up for work at 48 cleanup sites, up from 1,799 last year.
"This important event couldn’t happen each year without the enthusiastic support of our volunteers," said Frances Canonizado, Alliance Adopt-a-Beach™ coordinator in Illinois and Indiana. "They've all made a difference in their own back yards."
Participants combed shorelines and waterways from the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to Detroit, and along the Indiana and Chicago coastline to Cheguamegon Bay in Wisconsin.
Adopt-a-Beach™ participants do more than pick up trash, however. Volunteers further the Alliance’s clean beaches education campaign by entering their findings into a growing database that helps identify the most prevalent sources of beach litter.
Last year more than 4,100 volunteers in four states participated, clearing shorelines from Wisconsin to Indiana.
The cleanup coincides with the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup Day, with cleanups taking place in more than 70 countries. In Wisconsin, the September event is held during the state’s Coastal Awareness Month and in conjunction with the Wisconsin Beach Sweep.
State-by-State: September Adopt-a-Beach™
-- Michigan: More than 110 cleanup sites including six islands and four Great Lakes.
-- Illinois: Record-breaking volunteer turnout. More than 3,100 volunteers, up from 1,799 last year, at 48 sites.
-- Indiana: Increase from 14 to 20 cleanup sites from last year.
-- Wisconsin: Six counties and two Great Lakes.
For more information on Adopt-a-Beach, see http://www.greatlakes.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=525&srcid=548.
Contact:
Frances Canonizado: 217-417-0624, fcanonizado@greatlakes.org
Jamie Cross: 616-550-0817, jcross@greatlakes.org
Susan Campbell
Communications Manager
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Visit http://www.greatlakes.org