Swimmers Take On 24-Hour Challenge To Protect Lake Erie

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A group of four swimmers plan to complete a series of 10 swims in locations across Lake Erie, all in a span of 24 hours this weekend, all to raise awareness to protect Lake Erie.

Their first swim will be in the Detroit River, out to Peche Island and back, beginning at sunrise on Saturday, September 8th, 2018. They will complete their last swim at Crystal Beach, Fort Erie, by sunrise on Sunday, September 9th, 2018. Their entire swimming schedule can be found here.

The swimmers have teamed up with the Canadian Freshwater Alliance and their new Lake Erie Guardians initiative to help raise awareness and funds to protect Lake Erie and its waterways. The Lake Erie Guardians are citizens, groups and businesses working together to raise awareness about the problems facing our local waters, and increasing concrete actions to protect the lake and its rivers.

“There are many urgent problems, from toxic algae blooms to plastics pollution that we absolutely need to tackle if we want to safely swim, fish, and even drink from our lakes and rivers into the future. It is quite inspiring to see these four swimmers from across Southwestern Ontario taking the issues so seriously and working to raise awareness,” says Raj Gill, the Great Lakes Organizer at the Canadian Freshwater Alliance.

Taking on the Swim for Erie challenge are accomplished swimmers Anita Doppenberg from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Josh Reid from Simcoe, Michael Kenny from Cambridge, and Jennifer Agnew from Harrow.

You can follow the swimmers’ journey during the 24-hour period by following the hashtag #SwimforErie.