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PI Museum Society hosts successful beach cleanup

Courtesy Photo by Dennis Norton Our youngest Adopt-A-Beach volunteer crew of Addi, Jax and Ava helping Mom, Kaitlyn Palmer on Sept. 18 at the Presque Isle Museum Society’s beach cleanup.

PRESQUE ISLE — On Saturday, Sept. 18, Presque Isle Township Museum Society hosted a beach cleanup as part of the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ annual Adopt-a-Beach program.

Over 50 pounds of litter was removed from Presque Isle area shorelines from Besser Bell Natural Area to Thompson’s Harbor State Park, by 19 hardworking volunteers. Volunteers recorded the type and quantity of litter they collected on datasheets that will be submitted to the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ online Adopt-a-Beach database.

Dennis Norton, Adopt-a-Beach volunteer, had help from his granddaughter, Kaitlyn Palmer and her three kids Addi, Jax and Ava.

“The kids worked their little tails off! I’m proud of them for taking an interest in cleaning up the beaches,” Norton said.

“We are happy to host this community event again this year and appreciate all the volunteers who came out to help,” said Vicki Wright, president of the Museum Society. “From the very youngest volunteer to the oldest, everyone felt good about making a positive impact on our community and the health of our Great Lakes. We have an abundance of natural beauty in Northeast Michigan, and it is our responsibility as a community to help take care of these natural treasures. We are also grateful for the support of Presque Isle Township.”

Courtesy Photo by Vicki Wright Tom Cook and Anna Owens cleaning Presque Isle beaches. For additional photos of the cleanup, go online to TheAlpenaNews.com.

The most common items picked up were cigarette butts, pieces of plastic, and pieces of paper from fireworks. More than 85% of the litter that volunteers remove from Great Lakes shorelines is made of plastic. Plastic never goes away. It just breaks up into smaller pieces called “microplastics” that end up in our water.

This year marked the 30th Anniversary of Adopt-a-Beach volunteers removing tens of thousands of pounds of plastic and other litter out of the Great Lakes each year. For more information on Adopt-a-Beach, visit greatlakes.org.

For more information on the Presque Isle Township Museum Society, visit presqueislelighthouses.org.

Courtesy Photo by Laurie Gould Kyla Schatz cleaning Thompson’s Harbor State Park beach.

Courtesy Photo by Kyla Schatz Laurie Gould hauling construction materials off Thompson’s Harbor State Park beach.

Courtesy Photo by Vicki Wright Remy Coffey "weighing in" the litter collected from Crystal Point beach.

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