Clean-up Day Seeks Volunteers

Rozalia Project Islands Cleanup and International Coastal Cleanup
on Vermont Cleanup Day: October 22, 2011

After flooding and a summer of use, Lake Champlain needs our help.
This is an opportunity to make a difference.

Date: Saturday October 22, 2011

Join Rozalia Project to carry on the momentum from September’s Burlington Waterfront cleanup and head to the Islands to get rid of the trash on and in Lake Champlain. The data collected will be part of the worldwide International Coastal Cleanup and will compliment Governor Shumlin’s Vermont Post-Irene Cleanup Day.

From 10 a.m. to noon , meet at the site of the old Sand Bar Inn (south side as you drive off the causeway into South Hero). Free and open to the water-loving public

Last month Rozalia Project and 50 volunteers picked up over 1,500 pieces of trash that weighed 408 pounds within ½ mile along the shores of Lake Champlain in Burlington. That day, Vermonters joined millions of people all over the world to clean marine debris from shorelines and all bodies of water in over 150 countries as part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. It was the first time Vermont has been involved at this level in over four years.

This month, we are heading to the Islands. The spring floods and Hurricane Irene deposited huge amounts of debris into Lake Champlain. This is a chance to join Vermonters all over the state and get involved cleaning up the lake - making it safer for its people and marine creatures. In addition, we will record the debris collected and submit that data to the Ocean Conservancy as an ongoing part of the 2011 International Coastal Cleanup. This important marine debris data helps shape action and policy to keep all of the world’s waterways clean.

This event is free and open to the lake-loving public. Trash bags and data cards will be provided, please bring your own work gloves. All ages are welcome. Pre-registration is not required. For more information and updates, click 'Attending' on the Rozalia Project Facebook event page, email: rachael@rozaliaproject.org or call 802-578-6120.

About Rozalia Project: Rozalia Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to find and recover marine debris from the surface to the sea floor through action, technology, outreach and research. The organization operates from the record-breaking circumnavigator now research-vessel, American Promise along the New England coast and is run by Vermonters, Rachael Miller and James Lyne. This summer, Rozalia Project picked up 4,863 pieces of trash with 1,381 people involved along the New England coast. Rachael Miller was recently named the Vermont Coordinator for the International Coastal Cleanup by the Ocean Conservancy. For more information about Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean visit: www.rozaliaproject.org