Echo

PSA: Don’t feed the birds

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Throughout the summer Great Lakes Echo will feature an occasional series of public service announcements produced by Michigan’s Ottawa County Health Department  to promote clean beaches. This one tells swimmers that feeding the birds can ultimately lead to a greater risk for illness. Echo recently reported a similar issue in Chicago, where a large ring-billed gull population contributed to unsafe E. Coli levels on the beach. Researchers eventually used egg oiling to reduce the population, and swim advisories were lifted from a dozen Lake Michigan beaches. One way to help prevent the problem is to refrain from sharing food with the birds, said Kristina Wieghmink, spokesperson for the Ottawa County Health Department.

Echo

Photo Friday: Scene from a bench

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Photographer Scott Thomas was sitting on a bench overlooking the Oswego Harbor when he captured this photo. Taken on June 23, the photograph shows people walking on the break wall to the West Pierhead Lighthouse in Oswego Harbor in Oswego, New York. See more of Thomas’ photography here.

Echo

PSA: Don’t drink the lake water

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Throughout the summer Great Lakes Echo will feature an occasional series of public service announcements produced by Michigan’s Ottawa County Health Department  to promote clean beaches. This one reminds swimmers — especially those with young children — of the harm in spitting or swallowing lake water, however fun it may be. “We don’t want young children to put water in their mouth and spit it back out like a fountain,” said Kristina Wieghmink, spokesperson for the department. Follow this link to other clean beach notices. The campaign is funded through grants from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Echo

Photo Friday: Flotilla along Lake Ontario’s shoreline

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This photo, taken on June 23, captured a group of kayakers in Lake Ontario. They were paddling along the shoreline during the Shoreline Shuffle, an event in Kingston, Ontario that raises awareness about the need for better waterfront planning and more public access to the waterfront. Hundreds participated, by walking, paddling or cycling alongside the lake. The event was organized by the Kingston-based Water Access Group, a community nonprofit that promotes access to public water. This photo was originally tweeted by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and posted to the organization’s Instagram account.

Echo

Little Things, Big Problems: Emerald Ash Borer

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Last year, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative began producing a series of educational videos about invasive species in the Great Lakes with the National Park Service. New videos have been recently uploaded, and you can watch the entire “Little Things, Big Problems” series here on Echo. This video discusses how the emerald ash borer is killing Great Lakes trees and harming the lumber industry.

Echo

PSA: Throw away trash, wash your hands

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Throughout the summer Great Lakes Echo will feature an occasional series of public service announcements produced by Michigan’s Ottawa County Health Department  to promote clean beaches. The department has created rack cards on issues that affect the health of beaches to distribute in schools and visitors’ centers throughout the state. This one stresses the importance of hand washing after you swim and before you eat. Washing your hands will help prevent the spread of bacteria, such as E. coli, which can cause recreational water illness. For example, Echo reported last year that staphylococcus aureus, or staph, was an emerging beach threat likely caused by swimmers since staph usually lives on skin.

Echo

Photo Friday: Moonrise over Lake Michigan

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Echo reader Jodie Opie, a fan of the Photo Friday feature, answered our call for photo submissions. This photograph was taken on May 24 in Kenosha, Wis. and captured a full moon rising over a dusky Lake Michigan.

Echo

Poll: Where are the best places to live on the Great Lakes?

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Recently Great Lakes Echo reported that Outside Magazine snubbed the Great Lakes region when nominating the most livable, active cities in the U.S. for their “Best Towns 2013” feature. We asked you to nominate the best towns of the Great Lake region. Now you can vote on them, write-in another place or justify your choices below. online polls