OGL Coastal Note: Celebrate 25 Years of Great Lakes Love with Adopt-a-Beach

              Celebrate 25 years of Great Lakes Love with the Office of the Great Lakes and Alliance for the Great Lakes

Adopt-a-Beach partnership makes positive impacts across the Great Lakes watershed 

September 2016 marks 25 years of community stewardship through the Great Lakes Adopt-a-Beach program. The Coastal Zone Management Program at the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes partners with Alliance for the Great Lakes to inspire volunteers, organize cleanups, and collect useful data to keep our shorelines beautiful.

The presence of 120 active Michigan beach teams reflects the deep connection people of our state have with their waters. Adopt-a-Beach program volunteers organize cleanups at 150 sites throughout the year, culminating in an annual cleanup day the third Saturday of September in conjunction with the Ocean Conservancy International Coastal Cleanup. Volunteers clear beaches of debris including plastics, glass, and garbage and catalog the results, providing valuable data to water researchers.  

Michigan’s Coastal Zone Management program, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sponsors the Adopt-a-Beach program to continue its mission to protect, enhance, and restore the Great Lakes coastline. The Coastal Management team and Alliance for the Great Lakes work to connect volunteer leaders with regional data, current research, and the Great Lakes Marine Debris Action Plan.

This work reflects themes of collaboration, water stewardship, and care for our resources in Michigan’s Water Strategy. The Strategy is a multi-faceted plan for the protection and wise management of Michigan’s water resources; its collaborative development process was led by the Office of the Great Lakes. The Water Strategy recognizes that actions at every level, from broad agency initiatives to local volunteer efforts, have great impact on the way we view and care for our precious water resources.

Help us keep the Great Lakes healthy, safe, and beautiful! Get involved with your local Adopt-a-Beach team, or start your own to show your love for the lakes. Visit the Alliance for the Great Lakes Adopt-a-Beach page for more information.

Contact Alisa Gonzales-Pennington to learn about the Michigan Coastal Zone Management Program’s Clean Beaches Initiative. Discover how the Coastal Program makes a difference in coastal communities at www.michigan.gov/coastalmanagement.                                               

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