COVID 19 brought an unwelcome pause to the annual celebration of Love Our Great Lakes Day in Port Washington, WI. The community has Bill Moren, local resident and conservation advocate, to thank for this day of celebration. Grant support from the Fund for Lake Michigan in 2018 enabled Bill to bring in renowned experts to speak on topics related to the Great Lakes and to engage the community businesses for afternoon activities that continued the Lake Michigan theme.

This year, to assist with the relaunch of this important day of celebration, Bill has pulled together a group of supporting partners that include Lakeshore Natural Resources Partnership Executive Director Tom Mlada, Science Director of the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory Jennifer Phillips-Vanderberg, Treasures of Oz founder Marjie Tomter, the Ozaukee Press, Director of Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Andrew Struck, City of Port Washington Superintendent of Parks and Forestry Jon Crain, and volunteers from the community.

The celebration will include both speakers and activities.  Presentations will be held via Zoom to make the shared information accessible to a wider audience, but afternoon activities will be predominantly outdoors in Port Washington and will include guided field site visits of restoration work at Mineral Springs Creek and Birchwood Hills, a bird hike through Coal Dock Park led by Observatory staff, music by the Green Sails, tours through the Port Washington Exploreum, and more.

Learn more about our speakers HERE.