GLIN==> Longstanding Adopt-a-Beach Program Launches in New York

Alliance for the Great Lakes

For Immediate Release                                                      

Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011                                                                         

 

Contact: Jamie Cross                                                                                    

             616-550-0817 

              jcross at greatlakes.org <mailto:jcross at greatlakes.org> 

 

Longstanding Adopt-a-Beach(tm) Program Launches in New York 

 

The Alliance for the Great Lakes is pleased to host a series of Adopt-a-Beach(tm) events in New York on Saturday, Aug. 27, after a summer-long effort to bring the highly regarded beach improvement program ashore on Lakes Ontario and Erie.

 

All of the events are open to the public, and volunteers are invited to register online at www.greatlakesadopt.org <http://www.greatlakesadopt.org/> . 

                        

With Lake Ontario the last of the five Great Lakes to be touched by Adopt-a-Beach(tm), the New York launch marks a major milestone in the 20-plus-year history of our growing beach cleanup and monitoring program.

 

"We're now providing a way for people to personally protect every Great Lake," says Jamie Cross, Adopt-a-Beach(tm) Program Manager. "We're learning through our New York outreach that - as is true in other Great Lakes communities - these beaches and coastal waters are priceless treasures to the people who live, work and recreate nearby."

 

Nearly 11,000 people in seven of the eight Great Lakes states volunteer with the program, conducting litter cleanups, making scientific observations about pollution and performing a simple water quality test. Information collected by the teams is entered into the Alliance's first-of-its-kind Adopt-a-Beach(tm) online system, which is open to the public. Data is used to improve beaches by sharing information about beach health problems with local, state and federal beach authorities.

 

Adopt-a-Beach(tm) events and teams scheduled to lead the Aug. 27 New York cleanups on Lakes Ontario and Erie are as follows:

 

Lake Erie:

·        9 a.m. -- Erie County, Evangola State Park: Erie Community College-Great Lakes Innovative Stewardship through Education Networks (GLISTEN).

·        11 a.m. -- Erie County, Woodlawn Beach State Park: Hamburg Starbucks Branch. 

·        Noon -- Chautauqua County, Point Gratiot Beach: SUNY Fredonia Academic Community Engagement (FACE) Center and Sustainability Committee.

 

Lake Ontario:

·        3 p.m. -- Monroe County, Ontario Beach: Adopt-a-Beach(tm) training session and cleanup will be hosted by Alliance New York Outreach Coordinator Nate Drag.

 

"These cleanup events are examples of the citizens and communities of western and central New York coming together to protect and preserve the lakes," says Drag. "My hope is that, through hands-on participation with Adopt-a-Beach(tm), a stewardship ethic can be nurtured here on Lakes Erie and Ontario the way it has across all of the Great Lakes."

 

Six of the other eight Great Lakes states -- Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin - already host teams of Adopt-a-Beach(tm) volunteers. 

 

To learn more about the program, visit www.greatlakes.org/adoptabeach <http://www.greatlakes.org/adoptabeach>  or email adoptabeach at greatlakes.org <mailto:adoptabeach at greatlakes.org> .

 

###

  

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 <http://www.greatlakes.org/> . 

 

 

 
Susan Campbell | Communications Manager | scampbell at greatlakes.org 
Alliance for the Great Lakes | www.greatlakes.org <http://www.greatlakes.org/>  
1845 N. Farwell, Ave., | Milwaukee, WI 53202 | 414.540.0699 
 
Protect Your Lakes at http://takeaction.greatlakes.org/subscribe <http://takeaction.greatlakes.org/subscribe> 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/glin-announce/attachments/20110818/f42a389b/attachment.html