STERLING - One of the sayings nature lovers live by is “think globally, act locally.” In that spirit, the Sterling Nature Center hosted its annual International Coastal Cleanup Saturday.
Besides the obvious benefit of cleaning up the Lake Ontario shore, this will have an impact on a broader scale, nature center director Jim D'Angelo said.
“It's a simple, easy way to help,” he said. “The goal is to clean up as much of the lakeshore as possible.”
Sterling Nature Center is responsible for two miles of the lake shore and it is rare to get the whole area cleaned up, D'Angelo said.
Rose Throop and her daughter, Sophie, 7, spent the late morning and early afternoon combing through the rocks looking for garbage and noting it on their data-tracking sheet.
This is the second year they came to help with the cleanup.
“We like the nature center and we like the lake and we want to take care of it,” Throop, of Sterling, said. “It's also a good way to learn the science ... about our environment and about what we do with what we use.”
When asked about her favorite part of the cleanup, Sophie said “when I find something interesting.”
Last year, Throop's husband also came to help the pair clean up and the three of them collected a garbage bag full of trash.
Joe Kovalczik and Jim Chaffee have been involved in the annual cleanups for the past six to seven years, they said.
“It's something that has to be done, and there's some interesting things we find,” Chaffee, of Sterling, said.
The most interesting item they found this year was a pair of women's underwear, Chaffee said. Usually, they find plastic, bottles and other common garbage.
Joan and Bob Maurer, of Oswego, have been cleaning up the Lake Ontario lakeshore since the cleanups have started, Joan said.
“It's a beautiful shoreline, and it's nice to keep it looking good,” she said.
One way that people could help out is by keeping track of their own trash, D'Angelo said. Throop, Kovalczik, Chaffee and the Maurer's all had a similar suggestion.
“You bring it in, you take it out,” Chaffee said.
Kovalczik, of Auburn, suggested that people be more conscientious about their garbage.
“Keep it in mind, what you leave behind is going to be litter,” he said.
This year, 18 people came out to clean the shoreline and approximately 25 bags of garbage were collected. Last year, the group collected 20 bags, D'Angelo said.
Each year, the nature center collects between 100 to 200 pounds of trash, he said. Over the course of five years, that amounts to 1,000 pounds of garbage that would otherwise be in the environment.
“We try to promote being responsible,” D'Angelo said. “We're trying to change people's attitudes and make them a little bit more responsible for their own actions that affect the environment on a larger scale.”
Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
“It's a simple, easy way to help,” he said. “The goal is to clean up as much of the lakeshore as possible.”
Sterling Nature Center is responsible for two miles of the lake shore and it is rare to get the whole area cleaned up, D'Angelo said.
Rose Throop and her daughter, Sophie, 7, spent the late morning and early afternoon combing through the rocks looking for garbage and noting it on their data-tracking sheet.
This is the second year they came to help with the cleanup.
“We like the nature center and we like the lake and we want to take care of it,” Throop, of Sterling, said. “It's also a good way to learn the science ... about our environment and about what we do with what we use.”
When asked about her favorite part of the cleanup, Sophie said “when I find something interesting.”
Last year, Throop's husband also came to help the pair clean up and the three of them collected a garbage bag full of trash.
Joe Kovalczik and Jim Chaffee have been involved in the annual cleanups for the past six to seven years, they said.
“It's something that has to be done, and there's some interesting things we find,” Chaffee, of Sterling, said.
The most interesting item they found this year was a pair of women's underwear, Chaffee said. Usually, they find plastic, bottles and other common garbage.
Joan and Bob Maurer, of Oswego, have been cleaning up the Lake Ontario lakeshore since the cleanups have started, Joan said.
“It's a beautiful shoreline, and it's nice to keep it looking good,” she said.
One way that people could help out is by keeping track of their own trash, D'Angelo said. Throop, Kovalczik, Chaffee and the Maurer's all had a similar suggestion.
“You bring it in, you take it out,” Chaffee said.
Kovalczik, of Auburn, suggested that people be more conscientious about their garbage.
“Keep it in mind, what you leave behind is going to be litter,” he said.
This year, 18 people came out to clean the shoreline and approximately 25 bags of garbage were collected. Last year, the group collected 20 bags, D'Angelo said.
Each year, the nature center collects between 100 to 200 pounds of trash, he said. Over the course of five years, that amounts to 1,000 pounds of garbage that would otherwise be in the environment.
“We try to promote being responsible,” D'Angelo said. “We're trying to change people's attitudes and make them a little bit more responsible for their own actions that affect the environment on a larger scale.”
Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
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