You probably don’t often think about how lucky we are to live on a great lake. The great lakes are the world's largest freshwater resource. Forty million people rely on the great lakes for their drinking water. Lake Erie is in Cleveland's backyard and yes, our drinking water comes from it.
In 2019, we partnered with the Alliance for the Great Lakes whose mission is to protect the lakes. We secured a community grant from the TEGNA foundation for them and we also took part in their Adopt-A-Beach program in April to get Edgewater Beach ready for summertime fun by picking up trash.
According to The Alliance for the Great Lakes, last year, more than 14,000 Adopt-a-Beach volunteers collected over 35,000 pounds of litter from beaches along the great lakes. Much of it was plastic. Items like water bottles, plastic bags and food containers are harmful to the lake as well as to birds, fish and other wildlife. Over time, the plastic breaks down and even gets back into our water systems.
Because of the importance of this issue, we then went to work to educate viewers about the importance of a healthy lake in a series we call Planet CLE. For a sampling of our efforts, watch the video in the player below.
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