As people returned from their Earth Week effort to clear trash accumulated over the winter from Waukegan Municipal Beach on Saturday, two were lugging large rusted pieces of steel.
“It was near the water,” Zach Robinson of Kenosha, Wisconsin, said of the steel he found.
Just south of the beach at the Waukegan Harbor & Marina, Robbie Kutzler, the director of marketing and special events for the harbor, said a woman found two tires at the south end of the property near the shoreline.
Lisa May, the city’s lakefront coordinator who oversaw the beach cleanup, said she does not believe the steel and tires were intentionally discarded. Items like them are found each spring at the beach, she said.
“They fall off boats over the winter and wash up on the beach,” May said.
Robinson was among 425 volunteers spreading out from four different locations on Saturday throughout Waukegan, removing trash from the lakefront, the city’s downtown and its neighborhoods, ending eight days of active environmental stewardship during the city’s fifth-annual Earth Week cleanup.
Cleanups of the beach and harbor were organized by the city of Waukegan. Marty Wozniak and Charlotte Callahan Wozniak recruited and equipped volunteers to remove trash from the Amstutz Expressway, as they do multiple times a year. They got some help from the city.
“Our efforts were much safer with the city of Waukegan closing the Amstutz from 9 to 11,” Marty Wozniak said. “Afterwards, lunch at the Tap Room was wonderful, sharing stories of the cleanup and Earth Week activities.”
The Rev. Luke McFadden, pastor of Christian Neighbors Church, and Sara Weibel, the church’s administrator, reached out to 15 churches in Waukegan and other parts of Lake County, as well as eight other organizations in the area, to help with the effort as they do each year.
More than 250 people from Christian Neighbors Church, as well as the other churches and organizations, responded. McFadden said they went to five parts of the city to remove trash and other discarded items.
Mayor Sam Cunningham spent his morning Saturday cleaning the Amstutz and the beach. He said the entire week went well as the city’s Public Works Department placed Dumpsters in each ward on designated days for people to discard unwanted items. There was more.
“For Earth Day, we planted a tree,” he said. “All the activity today by so many people willing to take time out of their day to help make our city clean is inspiring. It’s a blessing. Our goal is to make this a sustainable effort every year.”
As people gathered in the Christian Neighbors Church parking lot, they saw signs numbered one through five designating which area of Waukegan they would help clean. Before talking to the group, McFadden asked them to take a few minutes to interact.
“Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know. Tell them your story and learn theirs. We need to lean on one another,” McFadden said. “We want to develop community,” he added, explaining his reasoning later in the morning.
Just before people broke into their groups, McFadden gave them a charge by turning to scripture.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up,” he said, quoting Galatians 6:9 from the Bible.
Daniel Mattson of Libertyville said he is a member of the Center Church in that village, which organized a delegation to help collect discarded trash in Waukegan. He said it is an important thing to do.
“We’re a sister church,” Mattson said. “This is a way to show our commitment. It’s a way to give back.”
On a chilly day at the beach, May said 120 people came with contingents from Waukegan organizations USABlueBook, Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and the American Place casino.
Julie Ivic, the casino’s communications director, was part of the American Place contingent. She said it has participated in Earth Week since the casino opened three years ago. It also donated the tree that the city planted.
“It’s become a meaningful tradition for us,” Ivic said. “It’s more than just a day of service. It reflects our ongoing commitment to caring for the environment and the community we’re part of. We’re proud to continue investing in initiatives that help keep Waukegan clean, green and thriving.”
Jay Stephen was part of the USABlueBook group. He said company personnel cleaning the beach has been a commitment for nine years.
Robinson said he and his partner, Belynda Alberte make the trip from Kenosha because of their commitment to the environment and the lakefront.
“We’re stewards of the environment,” he said. “We help in our hometown, here and other places.”
