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Save The River! Thousand Islands - Clayton NY on the St. Lawrence River

Save The River! is a non-profit, member-based environmental organization whose mission is to preserve and protect the ecological integrity of the Upper St. Lawrence River through advocacy, education and research.

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Originally published by PR Newswire on 4/12/2021

Collaborative, week-long trash removal event to support and protect habitats throughout the Great Lakes Basin

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is honored to have received federal funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative totaling nearly $300,000. This grant will help the group and its partners lead an effort across the Great Lakes Basin for coordinated cleanups throughout 2022. This cleanup campaign is essential to preserving the future of the Great Lakes. It will also help keep today’s drinking water resources safe and protect habitats throughout the entire interconnected Great Lakes Basin. Events run from April 24 until May 2, 2021.

The Great Lakes CleanUP is a collaborative single-week trash removal event to protect habitats throughout the Great Lakes Basin, from April 24 – May 2, 2021.

“New York is a Great Lakes state, and protection of our globally significant resources often falls on the shoulders of frontline communities and organizations,” said Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper Executive Director Jill Jedlicka. “Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is honored to lead this effort, and we are grateful for EPA’s support for this multi-state, multi-lake collaborative effort. We are thrilled to be able to work with our fellow Waterkeeper organizations around the Great Lakes.”

“The Great Lakes are the source of drinking water for 40 million Americans and Canadians,” says Cheryl Nenn, Milwaukee Riverkeeper. “We are excited to partner with other Great Lakes Waterkeepers and groups on a Great Lakes Cleanup effort.”

“We applaud our friends at Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper for leading this coordinated effort across the Great Lakes basin,” says Heather Smith, Grand Traverse Baykeeper. “We are thrilled to be deploying volunteers to clean up Grand Traverse Bay beaches and shoreline areas.”

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, along with Great Lakes Waterkeepers and other partners including the Seneca Park Zoo, will utilize this federal funding to coordinate trash cleanup events and awareness campaigns in their respective Great Lakes communities. The goal is to remove 68 metric tons of trash from over 17,000 acres of watershed by the end of 2022.

Waterkeeper groups hosting cleanups include:

  • Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper: Spring Sweep, April 24 – May 2, 2021; More information here.
  • Milwaukee Riverkeeper: Spring Cleanup, April 24, 2021; Registration, locations, and more information here.
  • Friends of the Detroit River (parent group to Detroit Riverkeeper): Spring Cleanup, April 24, 2021; More information here.
  • The Watershed Center (parent group to Grand Traverse Baykeeper): Public Beach Cleanup, May 1-2, 2021; More information here.
  • Save the River, (parent group to Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper): Trash Free River Cleanups; May 15, Cape Vincent; June 11-12, Wellesley Island; August 12, Chippewa Bay; More information here.

A full list of events and volunteer opportunities can be found here.