Far too often, the term conservation is perceived as an effort happening in faraway places like Africa or India, but in reality, we can affect change in our own backyards.  By participating in the nationwide Adopt-a-Beach program, the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) does just that by making conservation local and giving people the opportunity to do something that can directly benefit them.

Contrary to the name, the Adopt-a-Beach program is rarely done on an actual beach. What is actually adopted is a surrounding area or body of water in need of protection, e.g. a drain, a sewer, an isolated body of water or an area around a body of water. It may seem surprising to some, but adopting drains are critical areas because they lead to larger bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers.

The Adopt-a-Beach program is open to people of all ages; you can sign up individually or as a group. Although this program is open to everyone, we are seeing how it is especially beneficial to students because it gives them a chance to connect the science they learn in the classroom to real-life situations. With this hands-on program, students can see how their actions impact the environment while communicating with actual scientists to see the greater picture.

Before a group is able to participate, they must complete on-site training on data collection and debris disposal. After training, the group will go back to the site to collect, record, weigh and remove debris from the area ‒ with recyclables sorted out, of course.

The main goal of this program is to find and identify trends. For example, if a group goes to a beach and finds a large number of dirty diapers, then it is obvious there is a need for a changing area or campaign to discourage people from throwing diapers out in that specific area. By finding trends, there can be campaigns created to contribute to long-term conservation of the adopted areas and will lead to a significant reduction in waste and debris. Other examples of this include cans, cigarette butts and plastic bags.

So surf our website for “shore”-fire ways on how you can help tackle this issue! Whether you’re a Boy Scout, Girl Scout or someone who just wants to make a difference, this program is an opportunity to help the community and learn different ways to clean up the water system.  Email DZS Curator of Education Mike Reed at mreed@dzs.org  to find an upcoming event near you.