This summer, our Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup Community Engagement Coordinators were hard at work continuing to build meaningful relationships with local communities while collecting critical data on plastic debris in the Great Lakes.
Here are just some of the highlights from this season!
Malaika, our coordinator from Whitby-Cobourg, contributed a fantastic article to The Starfish Canada highlighting the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup and our efforts to combat plastic pollution. You can read her insightful piece here: https://thestarfish.ca/journal/2024/09/community-spotlight-the-great-lakes-plastic-cleanup
Teresa, our coordinator for Lake Simcoe, hosted and attended a range of community events in Barrie and Innisfil, including farmers markets, the Barrie Fair, and Georgian Bay Tugboat Festival, where she discussed local plastic pollution challenges and shared solutions. She was joined by MP John Brassard and MP Doug Shipley to discuss her work with the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup this summer, with support from the Canada Summer Jobs program. Teresa wrote a wonderful blog post about fish communities in Lake Simcoe and their challenges with plastic pollution. Read it on our Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup website here!
Catherine had quite the busy season managing plastic capture devices across four locations: Kingston, Belleville, Rockport and Trenton! Catherine hosted MP Mark Gerretsen at Portsmouth Olympic Marina Harbour to discuss her experience as part of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup team! Be sure to check out our Community Spotlight video featuring Trent Port Marina in Trenton, where she spoke with Andrew Belej, Supervisor of Marina Operations, about the impact of the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup and key lessons from the past five years.
Victoria, our coordinator for Hamilton, led several waste characterization events where she was able to engage diverse groups of volunteers and showcase her leadership skills! She also documented some intriguing algae growth at Harbour West Marina—take a closer look here!
Altogether, our coordinators collected close to 10,000 pieces of plastic this season, including over 1,500 large pieces and more than 7,600 smaller items. Below is a picture of the debris they collected together in Toronto for Plastic Free July!
We are immensely grateful for the efforts of our dedicated coordinators to raising awareness and driving community engagement. These roles were made possible thanks to funding from the Government of Canada through the Canada Summer Jobs Program.
