As spring finally begins to appear around the Great Lakes, volunteers are heading out to beaches for a spring cleaning. The Alliance for the Great Lakes’ Adopt-a-Beach program mobilizes thousands of volunteers who give back to their local beaches each year. April, especially Earth Day, marks the unofficial beginning of the beach season around the Great Lakes as many groups host their first Adopt-a-Beach events of the year. Cleanup events will be happening on all five Great Lakes during the two-week Adopt-a-Beach Spring Kick-off event April 13 – April 28. Last year, more than 14,000 Adopt-a-Beach volunteers picked up 35,606 pounds of litter as part of 900 cleanups around the region. In addition to cleaning up beaches, volunteers collect valuable data, which is shared with beach managers and scientists. Volunteers interested in participating in Adopt-a-Beach can find events in their community, or start their own cleanup, by visiting www.greatlakesadopt.org.