BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//github.com/ical-org/ical.net//NONSGML ical.net 5.1.4//EN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:Grab your gloves and garden tools and come out to the Great Lak es Watershed Cleanup - at Rotary Park on Saturday\, April 20\, 2024.   Th e Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup initiative is an effort that has grown fro m a District 7090 service project covering a small portion of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie to a multi-District plan to focus Rotarians’ attention on all five of the Great Lakes and their streams and waterways feeding them.   Our goal every year is to make this the single largest cleanup event ev er planned and coinciding with Earth Day. The Great Lakes contains almost 20% of the world’s fresh water and is arguably the largest source of fre sh water on the planet.  It borders eight states and two provinces and ha s 9\,577 miles (15\,323 kilometers) of shoreline.  So far 15 Districts\, 100’s of Clubs\, and thousands of Rotary volunteers have agreed to parti cipate.  We will be joining over one billion people worldwide working on projects together in their communities on Earth Day.   Trash\, plastics\, and other littered items plague our waterways.  This trash poses a threa t to terrestrial and aquatic life\, often becomes micro-plastics and harmf ul toxins\, and pollutes one of the most precious and limited natural reso urces.  Shopping carts\, tires\, furniture\, trash\, foam cups\, plastic containers\, and aluminum cans contaminate our waterways and green-ways.  More than 22 million pounds (10 million kilograms) of trash and plastic p ollution ends up in the Great Lakes each year.   Cleanups from numerous N GO’s\, community groups\, and individual volunteers are critical to redu cing the amount of garbage that collects in our watersheds each year.  In order to track our success\, the second goal will be to tabulate the amou nt of debris collected from each of the individual cleanup events.  And t he final and most important goal will be to educate the public to the impo rtance of protecting our waterways and to instill a sense of stewardship t owards our Great Lakes.   The Rotary Park Cleanup will be held on Saturda y\, April 20\, just before  Earth Day (4/22).     This collaborative w ork project has generated much excitement and enthusiasm among the planner s and is reflective of The Environment as the newest area of focus of Rot ary International.  It also reflects our desire to be People of Action an d to promote the good work of Rotary.   Rotary/Rotaract Objectives: Impro ve the aesthetics of the Great Lakes by removing garbage from public areas and roadsides. Reduce the amount of plastic and litter on our lands and i n our waterways. Remove waste that could potentially be ingested by pets a nd other wildlife. Provide an opportunity for public participation in coll aborative activities. Educate the public about the effects of littering\, the importance of recycling\, and instill a sense of stewardship. Collect and report back to the District organizers on cleanup numbers to track th e impacts of all the cleanups. Opportunity: Engage as many Districts\, Cl ubs\, Rotarians\, Rotaractors\, and other community groups and volunteers around the Great Lakes Watershed Each Club should find out what is happeni ng in their community regarding other spring clean-ups.  Engage with loca l Conservation Authorities\, Watershed Groups\, and local non-governmental organizations to see what is already planned in your area and to coordina te or partner with them If there is not an event\, plan to organize your o wn Support will be available to each Club to help to organize the event. T his is in the form of this Resource Page\, Zoom calls\, and networking.  Correspond with the District contacts to provide cleanup event date(s)\, location\, and lead contact person for each event.         DTEND:20240420T040000Z DTSTAMP:20261023T035151Z DTSTART:20240420T140000Z LOCATION:Rotary Park SEQUENCE:1 SUMMARY:Rotary Park Cleanup UID:0cc0f1c8-4b4b-4417-94c7-847053c171f9 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Grab your gl oves and garden tools and come out to the Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup - at Rotary Park on Saturday\, April 20\, 2024.
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The Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup initiative is an effort that has grown from a District 7090 service project covering a small portion of Lake Ontario a nd Lake Erie to a multi-District plan to focus Rotarians&rsquo\; attention on all five of the Great Lakes and their streams and waterways feeding th em. \; Our goal every year is to make this the single largest cleanup event ever planned and coinciding with Earth Day.

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The Great Lakes contains almost 20% o f the world&rsquo\;s fresh water and is arguably the largest source of fre sh water on the planet. \; It borders eight states and two provinces a nd has 9\,577 miles (15\,323 kilometers) of shoreline. \; So far 15 Di stricts\, 100&rsquo\;s of Clubs\, and thousands of Rotary volunteers have agreed to participate.  \;We will be joining over one billion people w orldwide working on projects together in their communities on Earth Day.\n\n
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Trash\, plastics\, and other littered items pla gue our waterways. \; This trash poses a threat to terrestrial and aqu atic life\, often becomes micro-plastics and harmful toxins\, and pollutes one of the most precious and limited natural resources. \; Shopping c arts\, tires\, furniture\, trash\, foam cups\, plastic containers\, and al uminum cans contaminate our waterways and green-ways. \; More than 22 million pounds (10 million kilograms) of trash and plastic pollution ends up in the Great Lakes each year.
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Cleanups from numerous NGO&rsquo\;s\, community groups\, and individual volunteers are critical to reducing the amount of garbage that collects in our watersheds each year. \; In order to tra ck our success\, the second goal will be to tabulate the amount of debris collected from each of the individual cleanup events. \; And the final and most important goal will be to educate the public to the importance o f protecting our waterways and to instill a sense of stewardship towards o ur Great Lakes.
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The Rotary Park Cleanup will be held on Sa turday\, April 20\, just before \; Earth Day (4/22). \; \;
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This collaborative work project has gene rated much excitement and enthusiasm among the planners and is reflective of \;The Environment as the newest area of focus of Rotary Internation al. \; It also reflects our desire to be People of Action and to promo te the good work of Rotary.
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Rotary/Rotaract Objectives:
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  1. Improve the aesthetics of the Great Lakes by removing garbage from public areas and roadsides.\n
  2. Reduce the amount of plastic and litter on our lands and in our waterways.
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  3. Remove waste that could potentially be ingested by pets and o ther wildlife.
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  4. Provide an oppo rtunity for public participation in collaborative activities.
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  5. Educate the public about the effects of li ttering\, the importance of recycling\, and \;instill a sense of stewa rdship.
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  6. Collect and report bac k to the District organizers on cleanup numbers to track the impacts of al l the cleanups.
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Opportunity:
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  • Engage as many Districts\, Clubs\, Rotarians\, Rotaractors\, and other com munity groups and volunteers around the Great Lakes Watershed
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  • Each Club should find out what is happening in their community reg arding other spring clean-ups. \; Engage with local Conservation Autho rities\, Watershed Groups\, and local non-governmental organizations to se e what is already planned in your area and to coordinate or partner with t hem
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  • If there is not an event\, plan to organize your o wn
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  • Support will be available to each Club to help to o rganize the event. This is in the form of this Resource Page\, Zoom \; calls\, and networking. \;
    • \n
  • Correspond with the Dis trict contacts to provide cleanup event date(s)\, location\, and lead cont act person for each event.
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