| 4/23 Point Au Roche State Park April Stools’ Day
What: A springtime citizen effort to remove dog doo and trash from parks, paths and recreation areas before it ends up in the water
Who: You and your pals
When: Sunday, April 23 from 1 PM – 3 PM
Where: Point Au Roche State Park. Meet for “doo-ty” at the park’s nature center at 19 Camp Red Cloud Road in Plattsburgh. Contact Suzy Johnson for further information (518 561-0917 or suzyjhn@charter.net).
Why: Because woof waste that’s not picked up sends nutrients and bacteria into our waterways.
What to wear and bring: Wear old clothes and sturdy walking shoes or rain boots. LCC will supply gloves, plastic bags, trowels, pails and hand sanitizer.
Prizes and give-aways: Participants will receive a set of lake note cards (while supplies last) and everyone who scoops poop will be entered into a drawing for cash prizes of $25, $50 and $100. (The drawing will be done in mid-May after all our poo pick-up events are held.)
The Scoop on Poop
Besides the foul smell and the unpleasantness of stepping in hound mounds, pet poop is bad for waterways, lawns and people. Pet waste carries nutrients that feed the growth of weeds and algae in the water. An average size dog dropping produces 3 billion fecal coliform bacteria. Pets are responsible for up to one-third of bacterial pollution in waterways near developed areas. EPA estimates that two or three days’ worth of droppings from just 100 dogs contributes enough bacteria to temporarily close a waterbody to swimming and fishing. Woof-waste doesn’t make good fertilizer; it burns grass and leaves unsightly discoloring. Infected pet poop can carry the eggs of roundworms and other parasites (like cryptosporidium, giardia, and salmonella) which can linger in soil for years. Anyone gardening, playing sports, walking barefoot, or digging in the infected dirt, risks coming into contact with those eggs. Children are most susceptible since they often play in the dirt and put things in their mouths.
Other Ways to Help
If you can’t join us this Sunday, plan your clean-up for another day. Head to your neighborhood park, trail or recreation area with gloves and bags when it suits your schedule. Wear a safety vest if you’re working near roadways.
Once you’re done with your poop pick-up, flush the remains down the toilet (without the bag) or knot the bag and dispose of it in the garbage along with any trash you find along the way. Email LCC a photo and details about your clean-up effort (date, where you went and approximately how much waste you picked up) by May 15 and you’ll be entered into our drawing for cash prizes.
If you’re a pet owner, always pick up after your pet and never leave for a walk without a plastic bag to deal with the doo.
Thanks for lending a hand for clean water,
The LCC Team
Support for this and other LCC April Stools’ Day events has been provided by the Lake Champlain Basin Program. |
