Wheatley beach clean-up a success

By Greg Coulter

A small but energetic group of Wheatley residents chipped in on Sunday, June 11 to refresh the long stretch of beach east of Wheatley Harbour.

The beach is a popular summer destination due to its size and is known for the cleanliness of the Lake Erie water.

This important Wheatley BIA project is a small part of a bigger picture of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (glslcities.org.) of which Ward 1 Councillor Lauren Anderson is a sitting member on behalf of Chatham Kent.

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLSLCI), founded in 2003, is a binational coalition of over 200 municipal and regional U.S. and Canadian mayors and local officials working to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.

The GLSLCI and local officials integrate environmental, economic and social agendas and sustain a resource that represents approximately 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater supply, provides drinking water for 40 million people, and is the foundation upon which a strong regional economy is based.

Members of the GLSLCI work together with other orders of government and stakeholders to improve infrastructure, programs and services and increase in-

vestments that protect and restore this globally significant freshwater resource. Its aim is to protect the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence, and preserve and enhance the quality of life and economic well-being of the people of the region.

The GLSLCI works with mayors and municipal staff to protect and preserve the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region at the local, regional, and basin-wide levels. Some of the current and past initiatives include implementing green infrastructure on a local level, preventing invasive species from entering the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, library of water conservation, climate change adaptation, and other best practices.

Standing in front of equipment supplied by Bowman Feeds and behind a mounting pile of driftwood are, from left, Jeff Bowman, Hope Eaton, Tracy Loop, Chatham-Kent Councillor Lauren Anderson, Jodi Mummery and Crystal Bilinski. SUN photo by Greg Coulter