A sample of microplastic pollution arranged on a penny for scale. Photo credit – 5 Gyres.
Unseen plastics. Unseen pollution.
All-female crews from Canada and the USA are sailing together for the first time this summer on August 20, 2016 on all five of the Great Lakes, Lake St Clair and the St Lawrence River to shed new light on the link between human health and plastic in the world’s waterways. The science lead for Lake Erie – Dr. Sherri Mason of SUNY Fredonia – will be joined by RTPI’s Communications Coordinator, Melanie Smith and several other environmental educators. The data collected will be provided to multiple organizations, including the United Nations, to raise awareness of their presence but also help reduce plastic and toxic pollution.
Melanie Smith lowers a net to collect a sample to assess for microplastic pollution in the Chadakoin River, Jamestown. Photo by Twan Leenders.
This event isn’t limited to just these all-female crews. This one-day mass engagement event, taking place throughout the Great Lakes region, aims to be the world’s largest simultaneous sampling for microplastics in history. That means eXXpedition Great Lakes 2016 is inviting everyone and anyone – male,
female, adult, child, solo or in groups – to take part in whatever way they can, wherever they can. The day is designed to celebrate our love for the Great Lakes through conducting citizen science on all its waterways, from a backyard river to the middle of a Great Lake. The aim is that no matter how participants can access the Great Lakes and its connecting waterways, whether it’s canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding, swimming or even just walking, everyone can be a part of this event and a part of the solution.
Registration is open for anyone and everyone, and only takes a few minutes to complete: www.eXXpedition.com/greatlakes2016. People can
connect with this initiative through the website (www.eXXpedition.com),
Twitter (@eXXpedition), Instagram (@eXXpeditiongirls) and
Facebook(www.facebook.com/eXXpeditionGreatLakes). Official hashtags for the day
are #loveyourgreats #eXXpeditiongreatlakes.
