"Adopt-a-Beach" 2019 cleans up Grand Marais harbor

Grand Marais Parks Manager Dave Tersteeg says, “The beaches of Grand Marais are looking good!”

That is thanks to 70-plus volunteers who participated in the annual Earth Day, “Adopt-a-Beach” clean-up event on Saturday, April 20. Parks Manager Tersteeg said this is the “most ever” for this annual event.

Tersteeg said roughly 190 pounds of trash filled a two cubic yard dumpster, with lots of recyclables going into the right bins.

There were a number of prizes awarded for the Adopt-a-Beach clean-up. Earning a prize for the team that traveled the farthest was Jordan’s squadron, which was in Grand Marais all the way from Fort Mead, Maryland, where Jordan is an active member off the U.S. Air Force.

The group collecting the most trash by volume was Team Butt It Out. They used a multi-family approach to net four full bags of litter.  
Honorable mention for trash by volume went to the Nordic Nature Group of Cook County, which wbrought back a heaping wagon of trash, nearly 50 pounds!

Taking a prize for the most cigarette butts collected was Team Sheila with a whooping waste bin of 621 butts.

The prize for most peculiar piece of trash went to Lyle, Hiver and Eero for their rare find of a vintage metal can that once contained Swift Premium hotdogs. Tersteeg laughed and asked, “Who else remembers hotdogs in a can?”

Another honorable mention to the Nordic Nature Group with their interesting find—a miniature book about Johnny and his three goats.

Tersteeg added a “huge thanks” to the Adopt-a-Beach cleanup sponsors:

Alliance for the Great Lakes
Cook Soil & Water Conservation District
East Bay Suites
Grand Marais Library
City of Grand Marais – Parks Department
Nordic Nature Group
Voyageur Brewing
Northwoods Volunteer Connection
Lake Superior Trading Post
Visit Cook County

Tersteeg added, “We’ll do it again next year. Until then, keep it clean!”