Lake Huron e-news April 2011

Submitted by Geoff Peach on April 4, 2011 - 6:12pm

This months headlines...

Cleaning Up Our Act

Waterlife - A Success

Upcoming Event

Urban Water Needs: Can We Keep Up?

Cleaning Up Our Act
Written by: Geoff Peach

Shoreline litter comes in many forms and sizes. It can be plastic, metal, glass, cloth or paper. It can be as small as a plastic resin pellet or as large as a car tire. Whether discarded accidentally or deliberately, all of the shoreline litter we find on Lake Huron beaches is the result of human activities. It is not only unsightly to people, but dangerous to wildlife. Many shore creatures can die through entanglement or ingestion of garbage.

In recent years, some effort has been taken to quantify just how much garbage is ending up on our beaches. The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is a national program organized by the Vancouver Aquarium Conservation Program to restore the natural beauty of Canadian coastal environments. Established in 1994, the goal of the program is to engage Canadians in the natural environment by organizing direct action shoreline litter pickups. It’s conducted once per year, but has provided some startling results.

In 2010, the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation analyzed the data collected along the Lake Huron shoreline. Since 2004 over 500 participants have removed 1,233 kg of garbage in approximately 219 bags along 29.64 km of shoreline and substantially reduced the accumulation of shoreline litter. (See the Centre’s full report at www.lakehuron.ca).

When comparing all the Cleanup locations along Lake Huron from 2004 to 2009 on average, the Goderich Waterfront along Lake Huron and the Maitland River filled the highest number of garbage bags; the second site was the mouth of the Bayfield River and the third site was at Bluewater Beach south of Goderich, indicating that the greatest quantity of litter was found in these locations. The highest average amount of garbage by weight was located at the mouth of the Bayfield River, second highest was Ipperwash Beach and third was the Goderich Waterfront.

Paper, food wrappers, plastic debris and smoking-related garbage was the most common refuse in all locations from 2007-2009. Food waste on our beaches can also draw high numbers of gulls and other scavengers, and their droppings contribute to the type of bacterial pollution that triggers beach closings.

The numbers are large, considering that the formal cleanup is only one week during the year. The rest of the time municipalities and local citizens routinely pick up garbage as it appears. Garbage maintenance on our shores is a costly public service, and largely unnecessary if people took their litter home with them and disposed of it properly. Until we see a shift in behaviour patterns showing greater respect for our coastal areas, programs like the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup will continue to be important.

The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup will take place again this year fromSeptember 17-25, 2011. Registration opens April 2011. The Centre can help you organize a cleanup, or you can participate in field science through its ‘Coast Watchers’ program. Coast Watchers is a citizen volunteer program where people can participate in observing, recording, and reporting the conditions of local beaches.

The Coastal Centre encourages local community volunteers to consider participating in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup by contacting the program directly at www.shorelinecleanup.ca, or contacting the Coastal Centre at (519) 955-6269, or email: coastalcentre@lakehuron.on.ca. Contact the Centre if you're interested in learning more about Coast Watchers.

Community involvement is key to protecting our lake environment!

Learn more:

Stop smoking-related litter -http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cigarettelitterhome.html
Pitch-in Canada - http://www.pitch-in.ca/
10 Tips for Beach-goers - http://www.pitch-in.ca/Library/E-Library152.html

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Waterlife
Canada Water Week

This year was the inaugural Canada Water Week from March 14 to 22. Events were put on by organizations around Canada from Coast-to-Coast-to Coast celebrating the importance of water. The Coastal Centre, partnered with Maitland Valley Conservation Authority and the Town of Goderich, hosted an event that showed the NFB documentary film Waterlife. This event was a success and many event goers gave great feedback about both the film and event.

Matt Pearson, Chair of the Coastal Centre welcoming
everyone to the Waterlife event

To see more photos of this event Click Here

If you missed this film don't worry. The Coastal Centre is looking to offer another free viewing of Waterlife in Saugeen Shores. Stay tuned for more infomation.

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Upcoming Event...
Grand Bend Area Environment Committee Meeting

Join the environmental force for change in the north of Lambton Shores and Southwest Huron County. We have community projects like Native Landscaping, Organic Community Garden and Aquafest and would like your interest and support.

When: Wednesday - April 20 at 7 pm
Where: Grand Bend Area Community Health Centre
Note: for more information contact Frieda Dobson at gbcf@hay.net or by phone (519) 238-2190

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Urban Water Needs: Can We Keep Up?Visualization by Hal Watts and Matthew Laws

UWN_Hal_Mat_2011_468

Here is a creative way to illustrate what water consumption will be like in 2030. This map was created out of kitchen sponges. Water was poured with the proportional amounts of water on each sponge showing the estimated water consumption of each country. Check out the link and click on the video to see how it was done. Its a great way to visualize the consumption of water around the world. Pass it on to show your friends.

To learn more Click Here

To see the video of how it was created Click Here

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Recent News...

imagesCAAHGOO1

The Coastal Centre's office is now open with full-time hours.

Monday to Friday
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

We look forward to your visit!

COASTAL PLANT GUIDE

The Coastal Centre has released its new Coastal Plant Guide 2010. To learn about native, non-native invasive plants and more click the above photo.

imagesCA10BYRO 2

OFFICE GRAND OPENING

The Coastal Centre will be celebrating its official office grand opening on Friday, June 24. More details will be made available closer to the date.

We hope to see you there!

Volunteer with Us!

Are you interested in volunteering with the Coastal Centre? Let us know by sending us an email

coastalcentre@lakehuron.on.ca

What do you think?

The Coastal Centre decided to try something new and change the look of the eNewletter. We would like to hear any feedback you might have about the newsletter.

Please email us at:

coastalcentre@lakehuron.on.ca

Events...

For information about upcoming events Click Here

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