Monday, May 07, 2007

Welcome Back to the Beaches!

"The month of May not only brings proverbial flowers, but it also brings back the sun worshippers, dog owners, baby jogger owners, sightseers and, unfortunately. . .trash.

My husband and I volunteer for the Alliance for the Great Lakes, and I serve as a beach captain for North Avenue Beach. We organize clean-ups five times a year. Our kick-off clean-up was on April 14 to coincide with Earth Day.

It was a sunny day, but gloves and hats were the preferred attire as the wind was whipping across the beach, pulling in the cool winter air from Lake Michigan. We organized a small group of volunteers to comb the beach for trash."


This is an excerpt from an article by Ann Hopkins Avery, who warmly ushered me into the realm of beach stewardship at North Avenue. She wrote it for the Great Lakes Town Hall. Read her full article here.

I was among that small group of volunteers with her in April. The beach was disgusting, filled with cigarette butts, plastic wrappers, and plastic bottle parts as she has described. I personally removed a queen-sized bed sheet from the sand. Someone else carried up a wooden boat ladder.

Our lakes need a lot of TLC. I had never heard about the Great Lakes Town Hall before I learned of Ann's article, but it's a meaningful meeting place to start learning more if you're interested and want to help.

[Another good place, of course, is the Alliance for the Great Lakes.]

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would never go in to the water at North Avenue beach during a typical hot summer day. I cannot believe how they manage use of the water. The life guards are parked in row boats in about 3 or 4 feet of water, and for some reason, no one is allowed to go beyond them. As a result, there are hundreds of waders, many of them toddlers, packed together, shoulder to shoulder, next to the shore. This policy not only takes all the fun away, it also seems extremely unsanitary. No wonder there's beach closings. In a public pool with a similar concentration of people, they'd be dumping in chlorine by the gallons.
Often on hot still days, there is no current at all, and the water is gross. They should clear out the people every hour or so and run a motor boat around to get a little fresh water dilution going on. And life guards need to be told that people have a right to spread out and swim out more than 10 feet from shore. Their present system is ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

FYI 43rd ward residents/voters--
Wednesday May 23 was the first session of the new City Council. And where was Vi? On vacation. In four years she needs to be retired on permanent vacation from any civic responsibility!

Anonymous said...

Everyone should have kids. They are the greatest joy in the world. But they are also terrorists. You'll realize this as soon as they are born, and they start using sleep deprivation to break you.

Anonymous said...

About 30 years ago I met Lola Redford, at the
time Robert Redford's wife. She was appearing
in northern Michigan to help a new group called SOS (Save Our Shoreline)
I will never forget the wisdom and patience
she showed in trying to talk to people who
could not believe the pristine, secluded sanctuary
of the east side of Lake Michigan was not an
asset everyone would rally to defend. Today
the fight continues. Thanks Jennifer.

Anonymous said...

I would need a vacation from idiots like you too! have you ever gone on vacation? do you know what that counsel session accomplished... I wish I knew who you were so I could help run you out of the ward!

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