Our Impact
"For the most part floating trash doesn't weigh much but..."
When we got started cleaning in 2017 we dedicated every Monday afternoon to collecting litter off the lake for an entire summer. For the most part floating trash doesn't weigh much but we did manage to collect approximately 120 pounds over countless hours that summer. That's not including the rusted drive shaft and transmission of an old truck.
Coeur d'Love was officially announced on Earth Day 2019. Although we started regularly collecting in the summer of 2017.
Since Earth Day 2019 we currently have 296+ hours invested into cleaning the lake, shores, rivers and hikes. We're excited with the progress but there's a lot more trash that we have yet to get to. Not to mention the fresh litter added around the lake and on the water after every weekend.
"Fresh litter... is that even a thing?!" Since we clean it up regularly we had to name it. We've cleaned entire areas and come back less than a week later with it being completely trashed again.
Most common litter found in order of frequency:
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Single use plastic bottles
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Broken glass bottles. Mostly on Tubbs Hill
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Cigarette butts. Especially on Fernan Lake
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Budget beer cans
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Children's snack wrappers, fast food and coffee cups
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Disposable electronic cigarettes
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Discarded bath towels taken from AirBnbs
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Decaying dock materials
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Fishermen trash and fishing line
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Car parts and tires
We collect trash with burlap sacks donated from UNION Coffee Co to use less plastic. If we find a plastic bag while cleaning we make sure to use that too. We recycle modified milk jugs to collect broken glass and nails.
Local Ramsey Raiders 4-H Club contributing as part of their community pride.