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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mr. James G. White, Principal Marquette
Catholic High
School 306 West
Tenth Street Michigan City, Indiana 46360 Phone: 219.873.1325 www.marquette-hs.org jwhite@marquette-hs.org MARQUETTE CATHOLIC
HIGH SCHOOL WORKS TO RESTORE THE
BEACHES OF MICHIGAN CITY AS PART OF THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM. Michigan City, Indiana -
October 4, 2010 -- On Saturday, September 18, Marquette  Catholic
High School students along with Mr.
Bill Fariss (Marquette science teacher) and Duneland Beach
residents worked together on a beach restoration project involving ridding the
beaches in Duneland
Beach of invasive and
nonnative species. This project is funded by a grant from Save the Dunes, which
Dr. David Fumo applied for and received. This will be a long-term effort that
will take place over many months, and will involve a lot of hard work! The next
outing will be Saturday, October 9, at 9:00 a.m. at Stop 32, on Lake Shore Drive. Marquette students also participate in Adopt-A-Beach, which is an
annual project that  will take place at Stop 31, on Lake Shore Drive, at 9:00 AM on Saturday,
September 25th. This is part of an international effort to evaluate
Earth's coastal resources, and groups all over the world will be doing the same
thing from 9:00 AM - 12:00 noon on Saturday, September 25. Locally, efforts are
organized through the Alliance for the Great
Lakes, in Chicago.
While at the beach, students will be monitoring weather and wave conditions,
measuring the longshore current, testing water quality (physically, chemically,
and biologically), describing human and wildlife use of the beach, and picking
up and cataloging refuse. All data will then be reported online and become part
of the international database. Marquette's
third project involves a two-month effort to provide local data to the Indiana
Coastal Management Program and the Alliance for
the Great Lakes. A number of "hot spots" with
high bacteria counts have been identified along Great
Lakes'  beaches. Locally, Stop 2, in Michigan City was identified. Marquette
Catholic High
School was approached about sampling and providing data over a
two month period. Four students, who were a part of the Adopt-A-Beach project
last year, (Emily Espar, Jessica Espar, Samantha Espar, and Katie Zakutansky)
volunteered to conduct tests twice a week for the next two months. The Service Learning Program at Marquette Catholic
High School is a basic part of the
school's mission that fosters a life of service and witness to the message of
the Word of God. By volunteering their energies and talents to the people and
organizations in the community, students fulfill their obligations to perform
corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Service at Marquette is part of who we are as a people
of faith in Christ. Although there are prescribed hours of service for students
to complete, Marquette's
culture naturally promotes service endeavors. # # # For information: www.marquette-hs.org Contact: jwhite@marquette-hs.org Phone: 219.873.1325 |
