Volunteer group cleans beach shores at area wildlife refuges

OREGON - More than a dozen volunteers of all ages came together to clean up the beaches at an area wildlife refuge over the weekend.

The group collected more than 700 pounds of trash along the lakeshore of Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge, which most times is closed to the public.

Alec Ochs, founder of From Stream to Bay, and the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (ONWR) near Oak Harbor, which manages the Cedar Point refuge, brought the group together.

"As a kid I found myself doing this as a hobby," Ochs said of picking up litter at beaches.

COVID-19 left Ochs with free time and a new passion

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in the spring of 2020, Ochs found himself with free time and decided to make his passion his mission after a powerful storm washed ashore tons of trash on the beach.

Ochs realized something had to be done to stop the trash from reaching larger waterways, and he founded the brand From Stream to Bay, which provides environmentally conscious apparel for environmentally conscious people.

For every item purchased, they pull litter from streams and coastlines, Ochs said.

Group aims to collect 1 million pounds of trash

From Stream to Bay aims for 1 million pounds of trash picked up by 2035. As of Sunday, they were on track to pick up more 1,000 pounds of trash in 2023.

Jason Lewis, manager of ONWR, thanked the group of volunteers for joining in to clean the beaches, which are isolated along the shores of Lake Erie's western basin.

Lake Erie contains 50% of the fish in the Great Lakes, Lewis said, and micro plastics and trash in the waters and streams endanger the ecosystem.

"Your support goes a long way to get this micro plastic out of our system," Lewis said.

The extra hands go a long way to help too, Alex Cherpes, biology technologist at the refuges, said before the group loaded into vans and trucks to head to the beach.

The groups visited two beach locations, looping around the nearly 2,500 acres of the refuge.

Founded in 1964, Cedar Point serves to protect rare plants and habitats that are not found in other areas of Ohio.

Basia Gowin, a new park ranger at ONWR, pointed out American pelicans, bald eagles and other species and points of interest on the drive.

Ochs' mission has become a family affair as several members of his family, including his grandmother Denise Ziebert, of Port Clinton, joined in for the final From Stream to Bay group cleanup of the year.

Group will return for a spring cleanup

"We helped in the spring too," Ziebert said.

Together they picked up two large tires, a hazard buoy, a trashcan, several dog toys, and hundreds of pieces of tiny plastic lodged in debris along the shores.

Altogether, it was 731.5 pounds of trash taken from Lake Erie’s waters, Ochs said.

“I’m very grateful for all of the volunteers that were able to come out and support our mission,” he said. “It is very fulfilling to see the positive environmental impact that these events bring to our community.”

Ochs said he looked forward to more collaborations with the wildlife refuges in the future.

To learn more about From Stream to Bay, visit its website at fromstreamtobay.com. 

This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: Ochs leads From Stream to Bay to collect litter from beaches