Supporting the Lake Erie Seaway Trail Center

5/24/2022 (Permalink)

According to the United Nations, plastic pollution is the #2 biggest threat to our environment, and while most people are familiar with pollution in the ocean (e.g. the Great Pacific Garbage Patch), they don't realize that the issue is much closer to home.

Lake Erie has one of the highest concentration of microplastics in the entire world. These plastics are too small to be effectively filtered out and cause all sorts of problems for plant, animal and human life on the lake.

How bad is it? Here's a quote from the Lake Erie Foundation: "Ultimately, microplastics are simultaneously increasing our chances of death while decreasing our ability to reproduce." 

Yikes.

Luckily, SERVPRO of The Southtowns and the Lake Erie Seaway Trail Center are here to raise awareness.

What is the Lake Erie Seaway Trail Center?

The Lake Erie Seaway Trail Center is an outpost in Hamburg for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail, which runs 518 miles through New York and Pennsylvania. 

The volunteers here in Western New York devote their time to educating the public and protecting Lake Erie here at home.

Full disclosure: Lyn, who owns our SERVPRO locations, is on the board. 

How is the LESTC helping with plastic pollution? 

Among other initiatives, the LESTC is installing Western New York's newest public art destination: "Red Fish," a custom metal sculpture created by internationally renowned artist Ellen Steinfeld. 

When it's installed later at the Seaway Trail Center this summer, Red Fish will be a bright red, six-foot by six-and-a-half-foot reminder of the importance of protecting our lake and the life within it. 

The sculpture will be surrounded by lidded cages filled with plastic bottles, a constant encouragement to keep the lake clean and avoid single-use plastics.

How can you help?

Individuals and businesses will have a chance to sponsor the sculpture and be remembered as protectors of the Great Lakes for years to come. 

For now, the best thing you can do is share the news: Red Fish is coming to Lake Erie, and it's going to be huge.