GLIN==> Adopt-a-Beach Teams Needed to Help Raise Bar on Beach Health Monitoring

Alliance for the Great Lakes
For Immediate Release 
Thursday, June 30, 2011
 
Contact: Jamie Cross 
616-850-0745 ext. 2, or jcross at greatlakes.org
 
 
Wanted: Adopt-a-Beach(tm) Teams Needed to Help Raise Bar on Beach Health Monitoring

Want to up your involvement in Adopt-a-Beach(tm) or come out swinging as a first-time beach adopter?

Our Adopt-a-Beach(tm) Program <https://mail.greatlakes.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://greatlakes.org/adoptabeach>  just got even better. The Alliance is now offering advanced training for those adopters who want to go the extra mile for their beach -- and the satisfaction of knowing their efforts will have a bigger impact.

Volunteers who enroll in our new Tier 2 Adopt-a-Beach(tm) Program sign a memorandum of understanding committing to make one or more beach visits a month for three months, and to participate in quality control training that will help ensure the accuracy of data collected during Adopt-a-Beach(tm) monitoring visits. 

"This is a great summer program for young people, or for a family or individuals who just want to get involved in improving their local beach," says Jamie Cross, Adopt-a-Beach(tm) Program Manager.

Cross says the Alliance is especially interested in Tier 2 volunteer monitors for Saginaw Bay, Mich., Milwaukee Estuary and Ohio's Cuyahoga Area of Concern as part of its work under the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Although all volunteers participating in Adopt-a-Beach(tm) collect and record data that is used by local and state beach authorities and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the extra training provided for our Tier 2 adopters means their data is considered more reliable.

"The extra commitment shown by our Tier 2 adopters will further the inroads Adopt-a-Beach(tm) already is making around the Great Lakes in terms of beach health," says Cross.

About 10,700 people in six of the eight Great Lakes states now volunteer with Adopt-a-Beach(tm). Teams conduct litter removal and monitoring, and also complete a beach health assessment form that includes science-based observation and testing.

For Tier 1 and Tier 2 program requirements, see http://www.greatlakes.org/Document.Doc?id=1065 <https://mail.greatlakes.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.greatlakes.org/Document.Doc?id=1065> .

Interested in learning more or want to become a team leader for Adopt-a-Beach(tm)? Contact adoptabeach at greatlakes.org <mailto:adoptabeach at greatlakes.org>   or visit www.greatlakes.org/adoptabeach <https://mail.greatlakes.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.greatlakes.org/adoptabeach> .  

 

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/20110630/928bd58e/attachment.html