Today’s Boardwalk Volunteers

The Crescent Beach and Boardwalk volunteer tradition continues and the future looks bright for a sustained effort far into the future. Individuals acting on their own help to keep the beach litter free. Organized activities by community groups like Friends of Crescent Beach (FOCB) complement the City of Algoma’s efforts to maintain the boardwalk and improve the health and safety of the beach.

FOCB Cleaning It Up and Keeping It Up

FOCB organizes volunteers and provides supplies for weekly beach cleanup walks from early spring through early fall. We also provide free supplies and equipment to community groups that want to help keep our beach clean. Since 2016 we have provided supplies for the annual Algoma Boy Scout Earth Day Beach Cleanup and the Algoma School District September Adopt-a-Beach cleanup that brings over 100 students and teachers to the beach each year. Students contribute to Great Lakes research by submitting cleanup data to the Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Prevention is always a priority. We see every beach cleanup as an opportunity to create awareness about the impact of litter on our beach and the waters of Lake Michigan. To mitigate the amount of litter that travels through storm drains onto the beach we launched an Adopt-A-Storm Drain effort in 2020.

We contribute funding and provide volunteer labor for beach and boardwalk fix-up projects. Funds were donated for Eagle Scout projects to build trash/recycle bins and bike racks. We purchased cigarette receptacles, a utility wagon and beach condition alert flags. We also contributed toward lamppost repairs and work on the landscaping next to the Visitor Center. Our volunteers picked up hammers and paintbrushes to build trash can covers and put a fresh coat of paint on volleyball net posts. Others get to work with rakes, shovels, brooms and brushes to clean up flower beds, scrub boardwalk benches and give the boardwalk a clean sweep.

Restoring the Shore

If you love sand and sun the north half of the boardwalk is for you and our volunteers pitch in to keep it clean and welcoming. If a tree lined walk through natural beach habitat that welcomes birds and butterflies and offers secluded spots in the sand is your thing, we are working on it!

A restoration project along the south portion of the boardwalk and the beach beyond was launched in 2016. Invasive plants and bushes were removed and native grasses and other plants were added in order to prevent erosion, improve wildlife habitat and clear blocked access to the south end of the beach. Stantec Consulting Services developed a restoration management plan and, along with Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership staff, provided support for project design and implementation as well as hands-on assistance and training for city employees and volunteers. Over 60 volunteers have planted more than 16,000 beach grass plugs and helped to remove invasive plants. Other native plants and bushes have also been added to the landscape. Work from 2016 to present was made possible by more than $30,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program, Fund for Lake Michigan and the DNR Great Lakes Protection Fund, procured on our behalf by LNRP and supplemented by FOCB donations. As the grant funded portion of the project draws to a close in 2020, we are well positioned to continue the progress with an all-volunteer effort.

New volunteers are always welcome! Click here to get started.

Today's Boardwalk Volunteers