GLIN==> Adopt-a-Beach Invests in Hardest Hit Great Lakes Hot Spots

Alliance for the Great Lakes

For Immediate Release
Friday, April 15, 2011 	
Contact: Jamie Cross
616-850-0745; jcross at greatlakes.org


Adopt-a-Beach Invests in Hardest Hit Great Lakes Hot Spots

With the launch of its ninth season April 20-May 4, the Alliance for the Great Lakes brings its powerful volunteer-based stewardship to bear on the places it is most sorely needed: beaches and waters identified as among the Great Lakes’ most degraded.

Building on the success of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Adopt-a-Beach volunteers will zero in on hot spots of beach closings and along shorelines the U.S. and Canada have designated as “Areas of Concern” because of past pollution.

In addition to clearing trash and sampling water quality, volunteers will help identify sources of pollution and impairments to help turn the tide and bring about long-term improvement to these hard-hit shorelines. Select volunteers will be given advanced training to monitor beaches located in these AOCs or experiencing a high number of beach closures.

“Given the success we've had improving beach health around the Great Lakes, it only makes sense to turn to those shorelines that face the greatest challenges," says Adopt-a-Beach Program Manager Jamie Cross.

Funds for this critical restoration work come from the U.S. EPA-funded Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the most sweeping federal commitment in history to restore the Great Lakes. The Alliance will also reach out to communities not currently served by the Adopt-a-Beach program that are concerned about the health of their beaches. 

Alliance Adopt-a-Beach volunteers are up to the challenge. Now numbering some 10,000 and active in six of the eight Great Lakes states, last year they removed 31,295 pounds of trash from Great Lakes shorelines, translating to just over 3 pounds of trash per person.

This year’s annual spring kickoff event starts Wednesday, April 20, with cleanups scheduled along Great Lakes shorelines and tributaries in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The Alliance welcomes more volunteers to join in the mission to improve beach health throughout the Great Lakes. “In an era when government resources are stretched, officials tell us these volunteers provide an extra set of eyes and ears that help make our beaches better,” Cross says.
 
In addition to picking up litter, Adopt-a-Beach teams and volunteers conduct water quality tests and identify sources of pollution that create public health risks. The information is recorded and then shared with agencies and beach managers around the Great Lakes to improve beach conditions on a site-by-site basis. 

Beach adoption is easy and is open to everyone. Groups can e-mail the Alliance at adoptabeach at greatlakes.org, or visit the Alliance’s Adopt-a-Beach™ web pages at www.greatlakes.org/adoptabeach to find our more about the program.

See www.greatlakes.org/adoptabeach/openevents for information about public cleanup events scheduled around the Great Lakes. Contact the following state coordinators for information about Adopt-a-Beach in your state: 

Illinois/Indiana:  Frances Canonizado, fcanonizado at greatlakes.org, 312-939-0838 x227
Michigan: Jamie Cross, jcross at greatlakes.org, 616-850-0745 x12
Ohio: April Mather, amather at greatlakes.org, 216-630-8140
Wisconsin: Todd Brennan, tbrennan at greatlakes.org, 414-559-0317


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Formed in 1970, the Alliance for the Great Lakes is the oldest independent Great Lakes citizens’ organization in North America. Our mission is to conserve and restore the world's largest freshwater resource using policy, education and local efforts, ensuring a healthy Great Lakes and clean water for generations of people and wildlife. More about the Alliance for the Great Lakes is online at www.greatlakes.org. 


Susan Campbell | Communications Manager | scampbell at greatlakes.org 
Alliance for the Great Lakes | www.greatlakes.org 
1845 N. Farwell, Ave., | Milwaukee, WI 53202 | 414.540.0699 

Protect Your Lakes at http://takeaction.greatlakes.org/subscribe


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