More than 120 people recently rolled up their sleeves to tackle litter on the Cobourg shoreline of Lake Ontario, collecting 1,200 pieces of plastic and other debris.
The Town of Cobourg was one of six communities in Ontario that took part in the Great Lakes Coastal Cleanup, hosted by the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and funded by the Government of Ontario. The inaugural event took place on World Rivers Day, which occurs annually on September 28 and highlights the importance of healthy waterways.
“I was thrilled to see the Cobourg community once again come together for a great cause,” Town of Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland told kawarthaNOW. “We were hoping for at least 50 volunteers and ended up with 124 registered. I’m so grateful to the many community organizations who came out with such enthusiasm for this event.”
Calling the shoreline “the heart of our community,” the mayor said residents enjoy the beach daily but with that privilege comes the responsibility to keep it clean.
The Great Lakes Coastal Cleanup aims to help combat the large amount of waste that annually pollutes shorelines and waters. Pollution in the Great Lakes has a negative effect on natural ecosystems, wildlife, and clean water that is needed across Canada.
In Cobourg, the cleanup crew met at the Cobourg marina building at 11 a.m. to sign-in, collect supplies, and have a coffee before getting to work.
The town said it’s thankful for the many individuals and organizations who participated in this year’s cleanup, including Blue Dot Northumberland, the Ecology Garden, Northumberland Land Trust, A Greener Future, Willow Beach Field Naturalists, Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, Community Power Northumberland, EV Society Northumberland Chapter, Seniors for Climate Action Now, Stalwood Homes and the Green Party of Ontario.
New Amherst Homes was the event’s community sponsor.
Prior to the big day, Cleveland said he was “incredibly proud” that the Town of Cobourg was selected as a partner in the Great Lakes Coastal Cleanup.
Cobourg is one of the original members of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a multinational coalition of municipal and Indigenous government executives representing more than 350 communities in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Region who are working to promote economic prosperity in those communities and protect fresh water for the benefit of current and future generations.
The initiative aims to advance the environmental, economic, and social health of the region by addressing issues impacting its residents.
“Continuing Cobourg’s active participation in the (initiative) remains a key priority,” noted Cleveland, who also serves as co-chair of the Mayor’s Commission on Economic Transformation for the initiative, in a media release.
The Great Lakes contain almost 20 per cent of the world’s surface fresh water and sustain 4,000 species of plants and animals.
They are a source of drinking water for one in four Canadians, and home to one-third of Canada’s population.
An estimated 22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes each year. Canadians living in the Great Lakes Basin throw away approximately 1.5-plus million tons of plastic waste each year, with up to seven per cent of that waste estimated to leak into the environment.
