Great Lakes

Threatened fish found

Banded Killifish

Phil Wilink from the Field Museum and I went out to 12th Street Beach last week for a quick survey of the fish in the area.  I was amazed to see the banded killifish which is a native Great Lakes fish I have never seen before in my more than 20 years of fishing.  The banded killifish is a state threatened species based on Illinois Department of Resources standards which means it is a fish likely to become a state endangered species within the foreseeable future in Illinois.  It has most likely suffered because of invasive species like round gobies and alewives dominating the food supply in Lake Michigan.  I hope that seeing them near Burnham Harbor is a positive sign for their populations.

I go out regularly with the Great Lakes team to do beach sweeps at 12th Street Beach and never knew this fish was so close!

--Posted by Kurt, Fishes

Beach Sweep with Chicago RedEye

Special thanks to the RedEye Staff including green blogger Supriya Doshi and our dedicated volunteers for participating in last Saturday's beach sweep at North Avenue Beach.  We had beautiful crisp fall weather up until the last 20 minutes when the rain started pouring!

With about 55 volunteers we cleaned up 79 pounds of garbage and 79 pounds of recyclables!  We scoured the beach to find more than 3,400 cigarette butts and a variety trash: 82 plastic bags, 565 plastic bottle lids, 3 batteries, 216 food wrappers, 33 balloons and other random items. 

After the sweep, a volunteer wrote back that she now notices every cigarette butt on the sidewalk while walking to work downtown.  "It's tempting to pick up every one of those cigarettes because I know they might end up in the lake!"  It's true that beach sweeps are a great way to recognize the connection between our actions and the lakes!

Sign up for our last beach sweep of the season on Friday October 23rd by emailing Listentoyourlakes@sheddaquarium.org.

-Posted by Elizabeth

Coastal Clean Up Results

THANK YOU to the 275 volunteers who came out to 12th Street Beach last Saturday to help clean the beach for the International Coastal Clean Up.  The results were amazing!  Check it out:

• Total number of cigarette butts collected and properly disposed - 2,003
• Total number of plastic bags collected and properly disposed - 305
• Total number of food wrappers collected and properly disposed - 670
• Total number of beverage caps collected and properly disposed - 447
• Total number of plastic bottles collected and properly disposed - 86
• Total number of lighters collected and properly disposed - 22
• Total number of batteries collected and properly disposed - 7
• Total weight of recyclable items recovered from the beach - 120 pounds
• Total weight of garbage recovered from the beach - 234 pounds
• Total weight of items collected from the beach - 354!!

After each beach sweep it becomes clear that the simple things you do can make a difference.  Always recycle bottles and cans, never throw your picnic garbage in the sand and remember that the beach is not an ash tray. 

The last two beach sweep dates are Saturday October 3 and Friday October 23.  To join us email Listentoyourlakes@sheddaquarium.org. 

Pizza Man Loves Lake Michigan

Our friends Joe, John and Marty from Aurelio's Pizza stopped by 12th Street Beach to help keep our waterways safe and clean.  Twenty Shedd Aquarium employees and several volunteers from St. Paul's youth Group collected 101 pounds of garbage and properly disposed of 41 pounds of recyclables.  Plus, we picked up 200 cigarette butts which are dangerous for birds and young beach goers. 

A special appearance from Pizza Man was an extra surprise for the Great Lakes conservation team and our hardworking volunteers!  Though Pizza Man did not do much in the way of cleaning he certainly helped keep our energy levels high with lots of delicious Aurelio's pizza!

Don't know who Pizza Man is??  Watch the video to find out!

--Posted by Elizabeth, conservation

World Ocean's Day

Last year, the United Nations designated June 8 World Ocean’s Day, creating an annual opportunity to raise global awareness of the challenges facing our oceans today and to instill a sense of duty in all of us to care for the world’s water.  Appropriately, the theme of World Ocean’s Day this year is “our oceans, our responsibility,” calling on residents living in the Midwest, Southwest, Great Lakes region or anywhere around the world. 

Shedd Aquarium’s Great Lakes conservation team generally finds more than 650 pounds of garbage and recycling plus an additional 2,100 cigarette butts in a summer season on the beaches of Lake Michigan.  According to the Ocean Conservancy, volunteers around the world collected 11,077 diapers in the Philippines, more than 19,504 fishing nets in the United Kingdom and more than 1.4 million cigarette butts in the United States during the 2008 International Coastal Clean Up.  Near and far these statistics tell us it is time to take action for a cleaner tomorrow.

Whether you live near Lake Michigan or a prairie in Kansas, please properly dispose of wrappers, cigarette butts, bottles and any debris that can blow into our waterways.  Your small actions have large consequences; make them positive.

Posted by Cheryl Mell, Conservation

Native Gardening Tips

Planting season has begun! If you are planning your garden this year here are four good water conservation tips to keep in mind:

• Conserve water – a healthy lawn only needs one to two inches of water per week.

• Minimize evaporation by watering your lawn or garden during the early morning hours, when temperatures are cooler and winds are lighter.

• Disconnect your downspout and direct it toward landscaped areas.  Or try catching rain in a rain barrel or cistern for later use.

• Consider a porous design for your garden path.  This allows water to reach the underlying soil and replenish groundwater.

Christine, horticulture 

Listening to Your Lakes on the radio

Today's blog was written by Elizabeth, Great Lakes conservation coordinator

Just to clear things up, Lake Michigan did not conduct any interviews over the radio waves as the title of this blog suggests.  But a representative spoke on behalf of these magnificent bodies of water that desperately need our help.

Earlier this year, Melanie Napoleon, Director of Great Lakes conservation, spoke with Karen Williams of Clear Channel radio WNUA.  The two ladies chatted about the Great Lakes and why it is important to protect this wonderful natural resource. 

At one point Melanie mentioned the four threats facing the Great Lakes, "pollution, invasive species, water over-use and loss of habitat for wildlife." Learn more about these threats facing the Great Lakes and what you can do to help: Download Melanie Napoleon talks about the Great Lakes-Shedd

Beach bums

Last Friday, a group of Shedd Aquarium employees braved the strong fall winds to participate in an afternoon beach sweep at 12th Street Beach.  The purpose of our afternoon clean up was to remove any garbage that doesn't belong on the beach that may be dangerous to beach-goers, harmful to birds or toxic for the water.  Take a look at our strong and hardworking volunteers below:

What a good looking bunch! 

In the course of one hour, these volunteers helped remove over 180 cigarette butts, 70 food wrappers, 45 straws, 33 plastic bags, several car parts and random articles of clothing.  The items totaled 81 pounds.  Way to go!

318 pounds of buried...

...TRASH!  Beach sweep volunteers helped pick up 318 pounds of trash and 100 pounds of recycleables last Saturday at 12th Street Beach. Car parts, fence posts, old chairs, shoes, blankets and cigarette butts were some of the items we unearthed last week.  A group of volunteers flexed their muscles and rolled up their sleeves to fight pollution at the beach.

Join us on October 17th for our next beach sweep so you can flex you muscles and fight pollution,too!  RSVP by emailing Listentoyourlakes@sheddaquarium.org.

Lake Michigan lost 52 pounds

Listen to Your Lakes beach sweepers helped clean up 40 pounds of garbage and 12 pounds of recyclables today on Lake Michigan's 12th Street Beach.  A broken chair, kite, t-shirt and glass bottles were among the items taken out of the water and properly disposed.  We found about 20 cigarette butts which is a significantly lower number than this time last year!

"It was really nice to get outside to the beach again!" said Sandy Somodi, Great Lakes coordinator.  "And a great way to welcome in spring!"