This past week, a group of 35 volunteers from NDCL went to Mentor Headlands Beach for a community cleanup, removing more than 44 pounds of litter from the shoreline. The team collected 3,820 pieces of trash, including 262 cigarette butts, 144 bottle caps, and 1,361 pieces of plastic. The collected data was submitted to the Alliance for the Great Lakes, a nonprofit organization that has been facilitating beach cleanups and gathering environmental data across all five Great Lakes for over 20 years. NDCL’s efforts contribute to the ongoing initiative to protect and preserve the region’s freshwater resources.