25th Annual Nautical Coast Cleanup Final Report

Though this year's COVID-19 pandemic caused several challenges, eager participants were fortunate to host this year's 25th Annual Nautical Coast Cleanup still.  The St. Clair Shores Waterfront Environmental Committee (SCSWEC) scheduled the event during its usual occurrence in May but postponed it until social distancing restrictions permitted safe outdoor gatherings.  This year's Cleanup proceeded on Sunday, September 13, with limited participation of 100 volunteers.

The weather favored the event with winds S/SW at 10 - 15 mph and the air temperature around 65 degrees. Lake St. Clair lake levels remained at the same height or close to the 1986 historical high.  The SCSWEC, participating volunteers, and volunteers from various groups concentrated on the public beaches and lakefront parks; groups of homeowners worked on their private shoreline areas. Because of the reduced participation, SCSWEC chose to focus on Veterans Memorial Park, Blossom Heath Park, and Chapaton Retention Basin this year. The final tally recorded approximately 100 participants. These volunteers' diligent efforts resulted in filling two 20-yard GFL dumpsters, amounting to nearly 12 tons. This 25-year effort has resulted in the total removal of 807 tons of debris from Lake St. Clair.

Cleanup Highlights:

• Planned and executed a social-distancing plan
• Implemented a touch-less, online registration process
• Collected and removed debris at--
  • Blossom Heath beach, fishing pier, and Coast Guard road
  • Veterans Memorial beach and shoreline
  • Chapaton Retention Basin shoreline, boat launch, and fishing area
• Continued the annual Lake St. Clair celebration with lunch and speakers

The SCSWEC thanks the Jefferson Yacht Club for providing their clubhouse as this year's headquarters again. Many thanks to the participating waterfront homeowners and school district students.  The SCSWEC extends its gratitude to this year's participating sponsors: "We Are Here Foundation," GFL Environmental, and Advanced Aquatics, Laparl Real Estate. Tremendous gratitude to the city and Mayor Walby for supporting the event and the Council members who came out. Finally, the event could not proceed without the City of St. Clair Shores for their front-end loaders and drivers, SCSWEC members, and all of the volunteers below who made this year's event go on, despite pandemic challenges.  It takes everyone working together to make this event work -- thank you!

See you next year!

Link to Eventbrite

Sunday, 19 May 2024