Love Your Great Lakes on Saturday, August 10, 2019
Love Your Greats this Saturday, August 10, 2019
A day to celebrate our Great Lakes, called Love Your Greats, takes place on Saturday, August 10, 2019.
Love Your Greats is held the second Saturday of every August.
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Love Your Greats Day promotes education, local action to protect our Great Lakes.
This day encourages making changes to reduce plastic use (to reduce plastic, microplastic, and nanoplastic pollution); education about Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes and sustainable practices; and water protection projects such as rain gardens, wetlands, tree planting, and responsible purchase of products that don’t pollute.
Jen Pate, of Bayfield, said local communities can take action to protect Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes.
There are many residents and landowners, businesses, community groups, and other organizations that are partners in this work to encourage education and positive local actions. There are many ways people can help to protect and improve their lake, whether it’s a two-minute beach clean with an app (visit beachclean.net); reducing plastic pollution by refilling your reusable water bottles at Blue Bayfield’s Blue Betty bike or at the water refill station at Grand Bend’s Main Beach or at a number of other local locations; or visiting participating sustainable businesses and markets within walking distance of local communities.
“Change starts with the smallest steps,” according to Love Your Greats organizers.
Bayfield is one of several lakeshore communities doing projects to help protect the lake. Homeowners, community groups, the Municipality of Bluewater, and other organizations are working to help protect the quality of water entering Lake Huron and the Bayfield River. The community has embarked on projects help to improve the quality of water with rain gardens and soakaways, rain barrels, tree planting, permeable pavement, and more.
You are invited to take a Stormwater Stroll self-guided walking tour in Bayfield, along the shores of Lake Huron, and to check out different urban initiatives in the village. To learn more, and to download the Bayfield Stormwater Stroll brochure, please visit the Ausable Bayfield Conservation website at abca.ca at this link:
The Bayfield Stormwater Stroll self-guided walking tour includes stops to view residential and community rain gardens, permeable driveways, rain barrels, tree planting, planting of native species, and more.
“To keep Lake Huron healthy, we need to look at what we can do on our own properties to minimize stormwater pollution,” according to the Stormwater Stroll brochure. “Stormwater is water from rain or snowmelt that does not soak into the ground. Instead, if flows over the land and can pick up sediment, fertilizer and bacterial pollutants and carry them to the lake.”
On Love Your Greats Day you may check out Yellow Fish Road™ education efforts. In local communities, young people, including Guides and Scouts, have painted yellow fish beside some storm drains. These fish are a reminder that only rain water should go down the drain. Anything else can have an impact on fish and water quality.
These are just some of the projects and locations in shoreline and inland communities that showcase what is being done, and what can be done, to keep our Great Lake great.
There are ways to learn about tree planting, cover crops, and other best management practices online at local conservation organizations. People can learn about the role of soil health in protecting water in creeks, rivers, and the lake at the Huronview Demonstration Farm near Clinton (Visit huronview.net to find out more). You are also invited to visit businesses and locations, in local communities, striving to be more sustainable for a healthier Lake Huron future.
Learn more about Great Lakes partners in Canada and the United States at loveyourgreats.com and at lakehuroncommunityaction.ca