Adopt-A-Beach Call for Volunteers
From staff reports
Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes will be hosting a kickoff meeting for Adopt-A-Beach volunteers on Saturday, May 21 at 1 p.m. in the DH Day Log Cabin at DH Day campground. Because of limited parking at the campground, consider parking at Glen Haven and walking to the Log Cabin along the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. The cabin is about ¼ mile east of Glen Haven and right along the trail.
If you are looking for a way to help keep Lake Michigan beaches beautiful while enjoying a relaxing walk on the beach once a month, you’ll want to learn more about the Adopt-A-Beach Patrol. Many of the volunteers are families or groups of friends who enjoy hiking beaches together. It’s simple, easy, and fun.
The Adopt-A-Beach program is sponsored by the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Volunteers select one of the Lake Michigan beaches in the National Lakeshore and commit to patrolling their beach at least once each month during the spring, summer, and fall. They keep a record of the type and amount of trash they pick up during their patrol. This data is collected by the Alliance for the Great Lakes and is used to track sources of pollution, influence changes in laws and practices, and provide information to research studies of the Great Lakes. The Alliance for the Great Lakes has over 10,000 volunteers and groups involved in beach clean-up and monitoring in the five Great Lakes.
The Adopt-A-Beach program has been in operation for nine years at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. During that time, their volunteers have picked up thousands of pounds of trash that washed up on the park’s Lake Michigan beaches to keep beaches clean and safe. They even found an industrial ice machine, boats, TVs, tents, mattresses, tires, and other things you’d never expect washed up on our beaches.
Those who wish to join will make a difference by helping keep the beaches beautiful and safe, and getting a little exercise; all while enjoying the great outdoors. Jamie Cross from the Alliance for the Great Lakes will present results from 2015. Kerry Kelly from the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes and Park Rangers from the National Lakeshore will discuss the program and volunteer duties as well as help participants select a beach and provide equipment and materials for patrols. Volunteers receive an annual pass to the National Lakeshore.
If you would like to Adopt-A-Beach, but are unable to attend the training meeting, contact Kerry Kelly, Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, at PR@friendsofsleepingbear.org, or call 231-631-4244.
