Lake Michigan Water Sampling Program
Archive
Earth Day at Montrose Beach
(Google
Map)
APR 21 (Sat) 10:00 am 12:00 noon
Celebrate Earth Day with other Sierrans and do the
environment a big favor. Chicago Group of the Sierra Club has adopted Montrose
Beach and has committed to keeping the beach clean from April through November.
But Earth Day is special and well have some festivities, food and even raffle
prizes to celebrate the 37th annual Earth Day in the fresh, wild atmosphere of
Montrose Beach. Tours of the very special dune area of Montrose Beach as well as
Montrose Point Natural area, a beautiful, developing natural habitat thats a
bird watching hot spot also will be offered. Dress for the weather we clean up
debris from the beach whatever the weather and bring work gloves if you have
them. All other supplies will be provided.
*
Volunteer Water Samplers Needed!
Though we are getting a late start this season, volunteers are needed to collect
samples at various water locations throughout Chicago. If you have sampled in
the past or would like to join the effort, send us an e-mail. If you have a
particular location on the lake or river that you would like to sample, let us
know. You need to be available for select Saturday mornings at the end of
August, September, and October to collect the sample and drop off at our lab in
Lakeview.
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The Chicago Group Lake
Michigan Sampling program.
A study conducted by the Chicago
Tribune identified 276 bans on swimming at 40 different Illinois public
beaches during the summer of 2001. These bans included 118 closings by the
Chicago Park District. Beach closings can be instigated by the presence of
disease causing microbes most often related to human and animal waste.
Individuals can become infected with diarrhea-causing illnesses through
swallowing or contact with contaminated water. Different reports indicate
that the Chicago Park District and the Illinois EPA conduct water testing with
"regular" frequency.
The Chicago Group of the Sierra Club will be performing water tests this
spring through fall along Lake Michigan beaches to help assess the water
quality, affects on public health, and possible relationships with wastewater
treatment plants and/or pet use with beach closings.
For additional information and/or participate in these activities, email
ch-water@illinois.sierraclub.org.
2004 Water Sampling Plan:
Word Processing format
(RTF) - Acrobat Reader
format (PDF)
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The Second Annual Chicago River Summit
Saturday, October 9, 2004
10:00 a.m. -- 1 p.m.
Kendall College, 900 N. North Branch St.
on Chicago's historic Goose Island
This Summit will build upon the unprecedented
exchange of ideas begun last year, as we continue to work to make the Chicago
River "fishable and swimmable" by 2020. Panels with experts from government
agencies, citizen organizations and business groups will discuss:
-
Fostering greater Public Access to the
Chicago River
for recreational and residential use
-
Improving the Water Quality of the Chicago
River
-
Protecting and extending Natural Habitat
along the Chicago River
To sign up to attend the Chicago River Summit,
contact: Michael Norbeck, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, 312-814-1164
or visit:
cleanwater.il.gov |
Mon-April 14, 2003 Research Meeting 7:00 pm
We will review what the status of our research is and what the next steps
are.
If you are interested in attending please RSVP to Carol Zmuda at
carolzmuda@msn.com.
The following meetings are to discuss the program to new comers and
to review sampling procedures. The sampling will be different than
last year, so please make it a point to attend if you are planning to
sample this summer. Please RSVP to the individual hosting:
2003 Water Sampling Plan:
Word Processing format (RTF)
- Acrobat Reader format
(PDF)
Sat-Apr
19 10:00 am Adopt a Beach - Montrose Beach Cleanup
The Chicago Group has adopted Montrose Beach. The program requires the
Chicago Group to visit Montrose Beach five times per year. During those visits,
we will pick up trash, collect water samples, and fill out other surveys wrt the
general health of the beach. This information is then merged with data from
other beaches collected by other groups. As a kick off for the project, we will
be performing our first visit on April 19th at 10 am (please meet by the beach
house) in conjunction with other groups along the entire lake front. Help is
needed for this project, please contact
ch-water@illinois.sierraclub.org if you are interested.
Wed-May 21
6:30-8:30 pm
General Membership Meeting & Program
at the Shedd Aquarium, 'Cowfish' Room, 1200 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago.
Program:
Lake Michigan: Wading Into Water
Issues. Lake Michigan Federation Education Outreach Coordinator
Stephanie Smith will talk about the history of Beach Sweeps and what we have
learned from them, as well as unveiling LMF's new Adopt-A-Beach Program.
Sierra Club Chicago Group Water Sampling Project Chair Michele Gurgas will
discuss last year's water testing program and what the plans are for 2003.
Aug 30 (Sat
9:00 am) Montrose Beach Work Day
It is time again to get dirty
and have some fun cleaning up Montrose Beach!
The cleanup will occur on August 30 between 9-12. Please meet at the Montrose
Beach beach house (the large white building located on the far east side of
the beach). Please bring with you some rubber or plastic gloves, some garbage
bags, a pen, and some friends! To volunteer, email
Michele at
ch-water@illinois.sierraclub.org.
Lake Michigan
Coastal Cleanup
Sep 20
(Sat 9:00 to noon)
NOTE: We need someone to arrive
early to help organize these activities, if you are interested
please contact Michele at ch-water@illinois.sierraclub.org.
The Chicago Group invites all members and friends to clean-up Montrose Beach,
Lee and Glencoe beaches
as part of Lake Michigan Federation's annual round Lake Michigan beach sweep.
Bring your kids, your neighbors, you classmates, the Brownie Troop, Cub
Scouts, seniors and everyone in between.
Volunteers roll up their sleeves and pick up all the trash from the beach and
the water's edge, cataloging the rubbish as they go as part of a survey of
the lake's flotsam and jetsam. Some unbelievable items wash up on the beach
and enough old clothes, sandals and barrettes are collected to outfit a
family of five!
In Chicago
Chicago Group hosts the Beach Sweep at Montrose
Point in Chicago. Everyone from toddlers to octogenarians
has fun cleaning the beach in the fall, with lots of
migrating birds and early fall colors all around. Trash is
categorized for later analysis.
Come between 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and dress for the
weather. Wear sandals if you want to wade in to grab
trash. Refreshments will be served.
On the North Shore
The North Shore Section of the Chicago Group works
simultaneously at Lee Street Beach in Evanston Glencoe
Beach in Glencoe.
Contact Rich at RSPineKnot@aol.com for more information
about locations, times and directions.
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Nov
22 (Sat) Adopt-a-Beach Clean Up
Now, I know what you are thinking ... why do I have to go to the
Lake on a cold November day? I'll tell you why because it is time again to
get dirty and have some fun cleaning up Montrose Beach! On a serious note,
the program we are helping out with really wanted to get garbage data all
year long. And since we are hard core Sierra Club volunteers, I know we can
do it!
The cleanup will occur on Saturday November 22 between 9-12 noon. Please
meet at the Montrose Beach beach house (the large white building located on
the far east side of the beach). Please bring with you some rubber or
plastic gloves, some garbage bags, a pen, and some friends! If you can make
it, please contact
ch-water@illinois.sierraclub.org. |
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