Through several windy and rainy Friday nights, AFFEW braved the elements to display its new signs and handouts for FNL participants. This event is more popular than ever, and is a teeming combination of tourist visitors, teens hanging out and resident families out for a good time, good eats and interesting things to see and do. AFFEW would like to up its fundraising focus during next year’s FNL, so if you have any ideas for local food and fare to sell to visitors, proceeds to help the Mason County environment, please let us know. And of course, if you’d like to work the booth, your help is always welcome!

——————————————————————-

AFFEW and volunteers completed four extensive Beach Sweeps during Summer 2009. These efforts are part of a Lake Michigan-wide campaign of thousands of volunteers to clean up nearly 200 miles of shoreline.

Local territory cleaned included the State Park lakefront, sections along Lakeshore Drive, and Stearns Park and Beach between the two piers, in downtown Ludington.

Julia Chambers, who leads the Beach Sweep efforts and organized volunteers, reports that the last Sweep on Sept 19 netted over 1200 cigarette butts, 57 balloons, over 1000+ food wrappers, 10 automobile tires, 53 cigar tips and lots of miscellaneous trash. The assorted debris is testimony to the fact that these Beach Sweeps are very important to the continuing health and beauty of our Lake Michigan shoreline. For tips on what you can do while you are enjoying the lake, go to  http://www.greatlakesbeachsweep.com/ or to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyWHnq-L28g to see and hear Julia’s advice.