Crew tapes Plastic People doc in Lake Huron communities
Society’s plastic use has negative impacts on rivers, lakes, oceans and people; a local citizens’ group and local youth are some of the people working to be part of the solution
Submitted by Blue Bayfield
Some years ago, Dr. J. D. Allen, of the University of Michigan, partnered with several universities, including the University of Windsor, to study threats to the Great Lakes. This group of scientists identified 34 threats to the lakes. These threats include Asian Carp, Zebra Mussels and other invasive species, runoff of nutrient-rich fertilizers (from sources including agricultural and residential properties), and toxic pollutants, including plastic.
All over the world, in rivers, lakes and oceans, tiny plastics, called microplastics, microbeads or plastic fibres, are being found in our water. These tiny plastics contaminate the food chain, including food for human consumption.
Lorena Rios, of the University of Wisconsin, found 1,500 to 1.7 million plastic particles per square mile (2.5 square kilometres), on average, in three of the lakes, with the highest concentration in Lake Erie. Rios collaborated on the study with the 5 Gyres Institute (Science to Solutions), a Los Angeles-based research group that studies water pollutants. Typically, the oceans contain plastic debris in the five-millimetre-diameter size, whereas in the Great Lakes studied found the plastic particles measured less than one millimetre in diameter. They also concluded the Great Lakes contained twice the plastic than that of the oceans in density.
The problem is that all plastic produced remains with us, in some form, forever. The first piece of plastic manufactured still remains with us today. Perhaps it remains in the form of a composite chair or even worse, as microscopic bits in our water, soil and air. Global plastics production doubled from 2000 to 2019 to reach 460 million tonnes. Plastics manufacturing accounts for 3.4% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
A study, by Memorial University, found that the eggs of the Northern Fulmar, a bird that never leaves the extreme north of Canada, contained multiple particles of plastic. At the University of Newcastle, researchers estimated that humans consume the equivalent of a credit card (5 grams) of plastic weekly.
It takes four litres of water and ¼ litre of oil to produce a one-litre plastic bottle. Of bottled water tested in the United States, 93% contained plastic microbeads. In those bottles contaminated with plastic, it was found that there were, on average, 325 parts per litre of plastic. Tap water tested contained five parts per litre.
Tap water costs less than one quarter of a penny per litre. Compare that to the cost of bottled water. The bottled water industry pays less than five cents for 100 litres but retail costs can have a 3,000 per cent markup. In 2010, the United Nations declared water as a human right. They deemed water is a resource belonging to all. They believe water should be accessible to all citizens at a reasonable price. Therefore, water should not be a commodity that is a debateable purchase.
Your favourite clothing could be made from synthetic fabrics like Spandex, nylon and polyester. All of these are, essentially, plastics. They are made from petrochemicals. Your sweat contains oil that encourages chemical additives in plastics to dissolve. Those chemicals may then be absorbed through our skin, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. Essentially, the more you sweat, the more chemicals you absorb. Previously, researchers focused our exposure to plastic through diet, air, and water, but the study raises awareness that humans can be exposed to plastic chemicals through our skin, too.
Acknowledging that most threats to our waters are beyond individual control, Blue Bayfield focused on what citizens can control. Getting rid of the ubiquitous single-use water bottle is one way people can take positive action to reduce plastics. To its credit, the community endorsed this project.
Recently, White Pine Pictures, producers of award-winning documentaries, visited Bayfield and other locations along or near Lake Huron to shoot some footage for a new feature documentary called Plastic People. This promises to be a frightening look at how plastic impacts the lives of living species.
White Pines Films discovered Bayfield through an Internet search that showed the support and engagement of local citizens and businesses of Blue Bayfield’s plastic-free campaign. Their 90-minute documentary will be released in the spring and shown at film festivals around the world, as well as featured as a full episode of CBC’s The Nature of Things television program.
World-wide, citizens and businesses have an addiction to avoidable single-use plastic. It is up to each of us to start making changes in our lives. We can start by eliminating the use of as many single-use plastic products as we can. In that way, we can change the system that produces them.
Read the full article here:
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Lake Huron Coastal Centre celebrates 25 years of coastal conservation
Coastal Centre holds 14 shoreline cleanup events in 2023, working with 740 volunteers to remove 1,700 pounds of garbage from Lake Huron shoreline
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre is celebrating 25 years of coastal conservation.
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre (formerly Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation) is a registered charity, founded in 1998, with the goals of protecting and restoring Lake Huron's coastal environment.
The Coastal Centre is one of the partners in the Healthy Lake Huron – Clean Water, Clean Beaches Partnership.
The year 2023 was a big year for beach cleanups, according to Coastal Centre staff.
The Goderich-based agency worked with 740 volunteers to remove 1,700 pounds of garbage from the Lake Huron shoreline at 14 events.
The equivalent of 40 dump trucks of plastic pollution enters the Great Lakes every year, according to the Coastal Centre annual newsletter.
“Volunteers and donors like you are helping to improve the health of Lake Huron as well as the lives of wildlife and humans that depend on it,” according to the Coastal Centre’s 2023 newsletter.
There were 180 volunteers at the Earth Day cleanup in Goderich and there were 133 volunteers at the First of Fall cleanup in Sarnia.
The Coastal Centre has developed six beach cleanup stations that will be installed on public beaches. These stations provide materials for people to help clean up the beach on their own. There is also educational signage at the stations.
During the beach cleanups, the Coastal Centre identified the ‘foul five’ categories of garbage that were found: cigarette butts; plastic pieces; food wrappers; paper; and bottle caps. ‘Dishonourable mentions’ included plastic bags; straws; disposable cups; and disposable water bottles.
To learn more about the Lake Huron Coastal Centre visit the Coastal Centre website.
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Youth Corps shines hope and optimism on coastal conservation
The Coastal Conservation Youth Corps program, of the Lake Huron Coastal Centre, gives young people a chance to meet peers and to work together to tackle global problems with local action.
The Youth Corps has provided this opportunity for the past four years.
There were week-long summer sessions in Saugeen Shores and Goderich in 2023.
In 2023, Youth Corps members took part in actions including removing invasive species.
They learned about the negative impacts invasive species, such as Phragmites australis, have on coastal dune systems.
They helped to remove invasive Eurasian water milfoil and enjoyed doing this work even when it got mucky.
Participants were able to “ … build hope, seeing that change is possible and most powerful when undertaken with a community approach,” according to the Coastal Centre’s 2023 newsletter. “Youth leadership and the willingness of young people to innovate is a valuable community resource that will lead to positive impacts for years to come.”
To learn more, visit the Coastal Centre's Coastal Conservation Youth Corps (CCYC) web page.
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Students learn about monitoring water quality in Lake Huron watersheds
Conservation education staff from Ausable Bayfield Conservation taught local students, at Huron Centennial School in Brucefield, about monitoring water quality in Lake Huron watersheds on World Water Monitoring Day.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation's Conservation Education Coordinator Cassie Greidanus worked with eight classes and taught close to 200 students.
Inside the classroom, the students learned what a watershed is and the different pollutants that can have a negative impact on water resources. They learned about the potential for a range of human activities to impair water quality and how people can reduce those impacts.
The students learned about indicators of a healthy creek. Those indicators include levels of oxygen, temperature and sediment. They also found out what we can learn from the presence or absence of aquatic species in our local watercourses.
The students had a chance to do their own monitoring, by using YSI ProQuatro Multiparameter Meter technology, and interpreting the data they collected.
The students did their own research, using dip nets to find our what lives in our local water bodies. The students found lots of minnows, crayfish, bloodworms, leeches, water boatmen, water striders, and more.
"Students were extremely engaged and so were the teachers," Cassie said.
Staff at Ausable Bayfield Conservation say it’s important for local youths to learn about water resources and about the importance of monitoring water quality and protecting it. The lesson they are providing to students meets Ontario Curriculum educational expectations for science and geography.
The staff say that “monitoring matters.”
Quoting from the 2023 Ausable Bayfield Watershed Report Card, monitoring is important because “ … it provides baseline data for current conditions that allows us to detect changes in environmental conditions.” These changes may be gradual or ‘chronic’ and take place over many years from many sources. They can also be sudden or ‘acute’ – such as a spill or contamination.
“Monitoring indicator species, such as benthic invertebrates and mussels, can tell a longer-term story of ecosystem health,” according to the Watershed Report Card. Monitoring can also identify new threats such as invasive species or other concerns, such as poor drinking water. “Without monitoring, these threats could go undetected and have implications for human and ecosystem health,” according to the Report Card. “Monitoring helps to evaluate progress towards our goals,” the report says. “This helps us to determine the effectiveness of our actions, and how best to proceed in the future.”
To learn more about local work to sample water and monitor presence or absence of aquatic species in local watercourses, and to monitor water quality for the long term, visit the Ausable Bayfield Conservation environmental monitoring web page. You are also invited to find out about groundwater and surface water quality in the Watershed Report Cards compiled by local conservation authorities.
World Water Monitoring Day is traditionally celebrated each year on September 18. This is part of the World Water Monitoring Challenge (EarthEcho Water Challenge) which is observed each year to highlight work that takes place around the world to monitor water quality. This world-wide initiative takes place between March 22 (World Water Day) and December of each year. Learn more at EarthEcho Monitoring Challenge.
Find out more:
#MonitoringMatters #MonitorWater #WorldWaterMonitoringDay @EarthEcho
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Notice to use caution in shoreline bluff areas
Conservation authorities issue notice to advise public to use caution near shoreline bluff areas
Two local conservation authorities, along Lake Huron's southeast shore, have issued a news release notice, jointly, cautioning that shoreline bluffs continue to be at a high risk of collapse. They advise the public to continue to be cautious near these shoreline areas.
Erosion hazards are always present along shoreline bluffs but the conservation authorities want to remind the public the current risk of collapse remains higher than normal. This is because there can be a delay between erosion at the toe (bottom) of the bluff and subsequent bluff failure.
Lake Huron water levels reached an all-time high in 1986 and lake levels were near that record high in 2020. Those high lake levels and associated wave action resulted in extensive toe erosion. Although the Lake Huron water level has declined since then, many portions of the bluffs were left over-steepened and may still be unstable as a result.
The high risk of bluff failure will continue as the slope adjusts to the recent impacts of toe erosion and bluff oversteepening. This makes some areas along Lake Huron’s shoreline prone to collapse. This is a risk that can be further heightened due to seasonal rainfall and snowmelt that can saturate the ground and soften the bluffs. In this area, these are seasonal conditions that we typically experience during autumn and winter thaws and in the spring.
ABCA and MVCA continue to encourage landowners, the public, and municipal employees to stay away from the top of the lake bluff, especially where there have been signs of over-steepening or slope movement. Areas along the beach below these bluffs should also be avoided. Injury or loss of life could occur if a bluff collapses and beach users are caught in the deposition zone. The ABCA and MVCA continue to encourage landowners to monitor their property for signs of movement.
Unlike flood messages and low water advisories, that are issued and then expire as circumstances change, caution around shoreline bluff areas should always be practised as the risk of failure and collapse is inherent in a shoreline bluff system.
ABCA has created a fact sheet to help shoreline residents recognize signs of erosion. It also offers best management practices. A PDF file of the fact sheet is found on the Lake Huron web page on the abca.ca website.
If you have questions about shoreline bluff erosion, staff contact information is available on the conservation authority websites at abca.ca and mvca.on.ca
Read more:
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Coastal Centre confronts ‘tiny, terrible’ microplastics
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre is conducting research on the presence of microplastics in Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.
The Coastal Centre, in partnership with Georgian Bay Forever, collected and tested 60 one-litre water samples in 2023.
“We analyzed the lake water by passing the samples through a very thin filter which catches any particles contained in the water. We then look at the filter under a dissecting microscope to find microplastic,” according to the Coastal Centre’s 2023 newsletter.
The 2023 findings show that 88 per cent of samples contained some form of microplastic and there were 224 microplastics observed. The most common microplastic type was microfibres with 164 recorded.
Humans ingest the equivalent of one credit card per week of microplastic, according to World Wildlife Federation.
“Although we can’t see them, microplastics are all around us,” according to the Coastal Centre 2023 newsletter. “They are released from clothes made from synthetic clothing such as polyester (microfibres), from our larger plastic products broken down over time (fragments), or exfoliants in our hygiene products (microbeads) ... Due to their small size, they can bypass water treatment systems and end up in the Great Lakes.”
To learn more, visit the Coastal Centre's plastic pollution web page.
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Coast Watchers is Coastal Centre’s longest-running program
Coast Watchers is a program of the Lake Huron Coastal Centre.
Coast Watchers has been operating for 18 years and is the Coastal Centre’s longest-running program.
The program has “… consistently gathered valuable data on plastic pollution, algae blooms, species at risk, human activity, and the evolving climate.”
More than 300 community citizen scientists submitted more than 3,300 reports through Coast Watchers in the 2023 season. That’s 800 reports more than the previous season. These reports spanned the Canada and American shorelines of Lake Huron.
It is crucial to have this long-term data available for decision-making at the local, provincial and national levels, according to the Coastal Centre.
Coast Watch volunteers come from a diversity of ages and experiences. About 87 per cent of these volunteers say they feel more connected to nature thanks to the Coast Watchers experience. Seventy-three per cent said they learned more about Lake Huron and 70 per cent felt the program motivated them to take local environmental action.
Community donations will help the Coastal Centre to enhance Coast Watchers through mobile application improvements and updates to equipment.
To learn more, visit the Coast Watchers web page.
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