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Stand Up for Great Lakes Co-Founder Hosts Weekly Beach Cleanups

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A feat of endurance by three men paddle boarding across three of the five Great Lakes is now inspiring a new mission.

While paddling 60 miles across Lake Superior this month, the guys from Stand Up for Great Lakes noticed an alarming amount of trash in the water.

Kwin Morris, one of the co-founders of Stand Up for Great Lakes, is now coordinating beach clean-ups.

He says if we each do our part it can go a long way.

“I think people just need to be aware,” says Kwin Morris, Co-Founder of Stand up for Great Lakes.

Aware of what can actually be found in the Great Lakes and our beaches.

“When we were crossing Lake Superior on our paddle boards, it was mind blowing how much trash and plastic we actually stopped and picked up,” says Morris. “We could only get the big pieces but we would see thousands of little pieces of micro plastics.”

Now he’s calling on everyone to take a dip and pick it up.

“In my lifetime, seeing the amount of plastic in the lakes is insane,” say Morris. “I never in a million years thought that I would find huge pieces of plastic in Lake Superior.”

Each week they’ll choose a new beach to comb through, giving volunteers a small goal which can have a big ripple effect.

“If you go to the beach, try to pick up three pieces when you go, and if everyone did that and was a little more conscience of their plastic, I think we wouldn’t have to do these beach clean ups,” says Morris.

Making it easy for everyone to get involved.

“We’re going to make a schedule of beaches to clean for the rest of the summer and if you have time, you can come out and help clean or you can donate and that would help us get materials to help continue to keep beaches clean,” says Morris.

The next beach cleanup will be July 28 at Memorial Park in Elk Rapids and will start at 9 a.m.

For information on the dates and locations of future beach cleans up head to the

 

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