June 5th is World Environment Day – a United Nation’s day whose theme this year is “Beat Plastic Pollution. If you can’t reuse it – refuse it”. This is a call to action for all of us to come together to combat one of the great environmental challenges of our time. The theme invites us all to consider how we can make changes in our everyday lives to reduce the heavy burden of plastic pollution on our natural places, our wildlife – and our own health.
Eighty per cent of litter in the Great Lakes is plastic, and single-use plastic bottles are a huge contributor to this growing problem. In fact, approximately 12,000 bottles are thrown away every four minutes in Ontario, making their way into landfills, waterways and the environment.
At Wasaga Beach we work hard to keep a clean and safe beach for both humans and wildlife such as the endangered Piping Plovers. We are proud of the fact that this is the 11 successful year plovers nesting at Wasaga Beach. To help celebrate this, the Friends of Nancy Island and Wasaga Beach will host Ploverpalooza on June 16th and 17th. Events will feature children’s activities such as face painting, arts and crafts, button making, bird house building and games. There will be something for the whole family, on the beachfront – Beach Area 1. Be sure to join us.
Ploverpalooza – Photo by Neal Mutiger
Plover chick – photo Neal Mutiger
Events such as Ploverpalooza help raise awareness and celebrate the fact that Wasaga Beach has contributed more breeding pairs and fledged young than any other site in Ontario. These successes require that we eliminate plastic pollution. Let’s all do our part.
For more information on Piping Plovers at Wasaga Beach – http://www.wasagabeachpark.com
More Than Just a Beach... 