From Gina Pannunzio

For the first time in the history of the Detroit River, an international community-based effort, the Great Global CleanUp: Detroit River, will hold the largest one-day cleanup event on Saturday, April 25, 2020 between 8:00 a.m. and noon. In collaboration with the Earth Day Network and to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, nine local organizations from the U.S. and Canada will mobilize an estimated 5,000 volunteers from both countries to join together to protect, restore and enhance one of our environmental assets.  

While all of the organizations have held cleanups in the past, this is the first time they have joined forces to make the biggest impact possible. The participating organizations include: Essex Region Conservation Authority, Detroit River Canadian Cleanup, Friends of Ojibway Prairie, Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club, City of Windsor, Windsor Port Authority, Rotary Club of LaSalle Centennial, Sandwich Teen Action Group, Town of LaSalle, Town of Amherstburg, Focused Environment Crew, Friends of River Canard, Windsor Port Authority, Caesars Windsor CodeGreen, Little River Enhancement Group, and the Eyes on Windsor Anne Whidholm Memorial Cleanup. Belle Isle Conservancy, Friends of the Detroit River, Friends of the River Rouge, Erb Family Foundation, International Wildlife Refuge Alliance, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and Green Living Science.

In global solidarity with more than a billion people worldwide, each working together to cleanup their community on Earth Day, the Great Global Cleanup: Detroit River will help to preserve a part of what is almost 20 percent of planet Earth’s freshwater. The Great Lakes water system is arguably the largest source of freshwater on the planet and with this historic partnership we all have a chance to preserve it for our shared use and enjoyment. Around the world, other Great Global Cleanup campaigns will take place in April making it the largest volunteer effort in history with the goal of removing billions of pieces of trash from green spaces, urban communities and waterways.

Volunteers of all ages from Detroit and Ontario are needed to convene on the river’s banks from Belle Isle to Downriver at multiple sites on both sides of the river, each championed by one of the Detroit River Binational Coalition organizations, to remove waste and plastic pollution, improve wildlife habitats and prevent harm to the shared ecosystem. Groups, businesses, families and individuals are welcome to join the effort. To learn more about the Great Global CleanUp: Detroit River, volunteer projects and to register to participate, visit    https://greatglobalcleanupdetroitriver.org/ .

Questions can be sent to Gina Pannunzio, Partnerships and Outreach Coordinator, ERCA at  or (519-776- 5209 ext. 245).