Team Leader Frequently Asked Questions

A Team Leader is in charge of all aspects of a cleanup – setting it up on the Adopt-a-Beach website, bringing supplies for your participants, checking in and welcoming participants, giving an introduction to the Adopt-a-Beach program, explaining how and why to collect data, disposing of litter after the cleanup, and entering attendance and litter data on your phone or computer after the cleanup is over.

It might sound like a lot, but our Team Leader resources help you every step of the way! Additionally, Alliance for the Great Lakes Adopt-a-Beach staff are ready to answer additional questions and provide you with support. Email us at any time at adoptabeach@greatlakes.org.

Despite “adopt” in the name, no long-term commitment is required. Whether you want to join us for one cleanup, participate or lead a couple each year, or make a longer-term commitment to a particular beach, we want you to be a part of it!

Team Leaders must be 18 years old or older. If you are under 18 and would like to organize a cleanup, you MUST have an adult register and attend the cleanup as the Team Leader, but you may be involved with organizing, publicizing, and speaking at the cleanup. Please email adoptabeach@greatlakes.org with any questions.

To become a Team Leader, create an account on the Adopt-a-Beach website by filling out the required fields and agreeing to the waiver and photo release. Once your account has been created, you will be able to schedule your cleanups, share registration links with volunteers, enter litter data, and see the results of your efforts! Watch this video for step-by-step instructions on creating an account.

To create an Adopt-a-Beach cleanup, you first have to create a Team Leader account. Once you have registered and logged in, click Host a Cleanup on the blue navigation bar at the top of the home page. Then, follow the prompts to select a beach location and provide cleanup details. Once you click confirm, your cleanup will be listed on the Find a Cleanup page! Watch this video for step-by-step instructions on creating a cleanup.

If you would like to lead a cleanup at a beach that is not appearing in the search when you are creating a cleanup, please reach out to adoptabeach@greatlakes.org and we will create a new site in our system!

Permission and permits needed vary from place to place. Cleanups held on public land and under a minimum group size generally do not need special permitting to host cleanups. Take extra care to learn about permitting needs or other events happening at your beach if you plan to host a cleanup with more than 50 people, or plan to have tents, food, music, giveaways, etc. These circumstances may require special permitting. Always check your local state or municipal parks district website for specific requirements.

The Alliance has standing agreements with the following entities to host basic cleanups:

• Cleanups on public park land in the City of Chicago do not need to apply for permits unless the event will have more than 100 people, will cause interference with the public way, or plans to have significant tenting or food for sale.
• Cleanups on public park land in the City of Cleveland do not need to apply for permits unless the event will have more than 50 people or include activities other than litter cleanup.
• Cleanups at Michigan state parks do not need to apply for permits unless they plan to have more than 50 people (in the spring) or 100 people (in the summer) or the cleanup will include activities other than litter cleanup.

When hosting cleanups on private land, always be sure to check with the owner for permission before setting up your cleanup.

If you have questions around permitting, reach out to us at adoptabeach@greatlakes.org and we can assist you with finding the proper resources.

Private cleanups mean that community members looking to join a cleanup will not be able to register for your cleanup. We encourage you to make your cleanups public so other committed and caring community members may join you!

While you are welcome to make any of your cleanups private, private cleanups are intended for school groups or groups with minors, corporate groups, or locations with private land ownership restrictions.

There could be many reasons a beach is unavailable for a cleanup on a particular date. It’s possible another Team Leader has already scheduled a cleanup for the same location on that date. When a cleanup is scheduled at a location, the day before and the day after are also blocked in the system, so there aren’t cleanups right after one another.

Additionally, sometimes our state or local park partners have requested we block off a particular day for a special event or safety reason.

When a particular date is blocked, try selecting another date or location. If you believe the problem is in error, or want to inquire about hosting a cleanup on the same day as another group, please contact us at adoptabeach@greatlakes.org.

Recruitment for your cleanup is limited only by your imagination! We have many resources to help you get started. On the Team Leader Resources page, there are links to customizable event flyers, social media post templates, and even a press release template. Local publications love to hear about and promote community events!

Yes! Please feel free to recruit for your cleanup on social media, or post pictures, quotes, or thoughts during or after your cleanup. We’d love to see your contribution! Make sure to tag us @A4GL on X or @Alliance4GreatLakes on Instagram and your photos might be shared on our social media channels or in our annual Adopt-a-Beach reporting.

To view or print a roster for your cleanup, click “My Cleanups” on the blue navigation bar at the top of the home page. Select a cleanup to open that cleanup’s details page. Click on the blue “Print Roster” icon under your cleanup details to view a roster of registered participants. If you would like to print a copy, you will find a “Print” button on this page. Watch this video for step-by-step instructions on accessing or printing your roster.

To change any details of your cleanup, click “My Cleanups” on the blue navigation bar at the top of the home page. Click on the cleanup to open the cleanup details page. The blue “Edit Cleanup” icon under your cleanup details will allow you to make changes. When changes are made to the date, start time, beach, meetup location, or Team Leader fields, all registrants will be automatically notified of the change. Registrants will also be notified if you cancel your cleanup. Watch this video for step-by-step instructions on editing your cleanup.

Review the Team Leader How-to Guide for a checklist to help you prepare for, lead, and wrap up your Adopt-a-Beach cleanup. This includes a list of required and suggested materials to bring to your cleanup. If you have any additional questions, always feel free to contact us at adoptabeach@greatlakes.org.

When you create a cleanup, you will be able to select what supplies you would like us to mail to you. To reduce our carbon footprint from shipping bags and gloves and to encourage the use of reusable supplies, there is the option for the Alliance to send a $5 gift card per cleanup to help subsidize the cost of bags, gloves, buckets, or other supplies purchased by the Team Leader. There is an option for us to mail litter forms, or you can print the necessary forms (Sign-in Sheet, Litter Monitoring Form, etc.) directly from the Team Leader Resources page.

Due to mailing times, only cleanups created at least two weeks in advance of the cleanup date qualify to receive supplies.

You can view helpful resources, such as forms and training materials, on the Team Leader Resources page.

You should dispose of your collected litter and/or recycling in the appropriate receptacles provided at your beach location. If the receptacles are full, you can neatly place closed bags next to the receptacles. If this occurs, please email us at adoptabeach@greatlakes.org so that we can let the park district know.

To record your cleanup attendance, click “My Cleanups” on the blue navigation bar at the top of the home page. Click on the cleanup for which you would like to enter data. On the cleanup details page, click the blue “Attendance” icon under the cleanup details. You can take attendance on your mobile device on the beach or on a computer or mobile device after your cleanup if you used a paper roster and paper waivers on the beach.

Entering attendance has 3 steps:

1. Once you are on the Attendance page, you can indicate who attended your cleanup from the list of registrants with the available toggles.
2. Enter information for anyone who attends your cleanup as a walkup attendee (they did not register beforehand). You can either have them sign a paper waiver and use the “Walkup” button on the Attendance page to add them (and any accompanying minors) or you can use the “Check-In QR Code” (available by selecting the blue “Check-In QR Code” icon on the cleanup details page) to allow them to register for the cleanup and sign off on the waiver using their mobile device.
3. Once you are done marking attendance, you will then be able to confirm the total participant account before submitting your final attendance number by selecting the yellow “Submit” button on the bottom right of the Attendance page. If the number on this confirmation page differs from the actual attendance count, fill in the box with the correct number. To submit your final attendance, select the yellow “Finish” button on the bottom of the page.

Watch this video for step-by-step instructions on entering attendance.

Team Leaders now have the option to have volunteers collect litter data with a paper form or on their mobile device!

If you would like to have volunteers use their mobile devices to collect litter data for your cleanup, click “My Cleanups” on the blue navigation bar at the top of the home page. Click on the cleanup for which you would like to collect litter data. Then, click on the blue “Check-In QR Code” icon under your cleanup details. You can either print this QR code for your cleanup or pull it up on your mobile device. At your cleanup, volunteers can use this QR code to check themselves in or register for the cleanup and to then collect litter data on their mobile device. Litter data submitted by volunteers using their mobile devices will automatically be added to our database for your cleanup.

If any of your volunteers use paper forms to collect litter data, you can enter those forms on our website by logging into your Team Leader account and navigating to the “My Cleanups” tab on the blue navigation bar at the top of the home page. Click on the cleanup for which you would like to enter litter data. Then, select the blue “Litter Forms” icon under the cleanup details. You can then enter litter totals for each category and select the yellow “Submit” button on the bottom of the page. You can either enter each paper form separately and select “Submit and Add Another” until you have entered them all or you can add up the totals from all of your paper forms and submit them as one entry.

Watch this video for step-by-step instructions on entering litter data.

Once you have entered all attendance and litter data for your cleanup, you will need to close out your cleanup. To do so, click “My Cleanups” on the blue navigation bar at the top of the home page. Click on the cleanup which you would like to close out. Then, select the blue “Close Cleanup” icon.

The first screen will make sure you have completed all the necessary steps. Once you have completed all of the steps, you can select the yellow “Next” button on the bottom right of the page.

On the second screen, you will report how many pounds of litter your group removed at your cleanup. If you did not weigh the trash at your cleanup, please provide your best estimate.

Then, select the yellow “Next” button. You will then have the option to include a personal thank-you note that will be included in an automatic email to all of your cleanup participants.

You can then select the yellow “Next” button, which will bring you to the final step. Once you are on the final page, you can select “Close Cleanup,” which will finalize your data and trigger a thank-you email to be sent to your volunteers. Your cleanup is then complete!

Collecting data on exactly what types and how much litter is found on beaches helps scientists study sources of pollution and helps policy makers make the case for new programs and policies. When a Team Leader enters litter data after a cleanup, their data is added into a larger Great Lakes coastal litter database, maintained by the Alliance for the Great Lakes. Once a year, the Alliance sends our regional database to the Ocean Conservancy, who maintains a global database of coastal litter. Read more on our data and reporting page!

Thank you for hosting multiple cleanups! The Adopt-a-Beach website allows you to “clone” one of your previous or upcoming cleanups, so you can duplicate a cleanup and just change certain details, such as date or beach location.

Click “My Cleanups” on the blue navigation bar at the top of the home page. Click on the cleanup you would like to clone to open that cleanup’s details page. You will find a blue “Clone Cleanup” icon below the cleanup details. You will find a “Clone” button in the drop-down menu located to the right of the “Litter Data” button. A screen will pop up with a cloned version of your cleanup that you can edit and “Save.”

Watch this video for step-by-step instructions on cloning your cleanup.

Whether or not to hold an Adopt-a-Beach cleanup during inclement weather is at the discretion of the individual Team Leader. Check our cleanup safety page for some general guidelines. If you choose to not hold a cleanup for any reason, you can cancel the cleanup at any time and all registrants will automatically be notified.

Safety first! We have provided a list of safety-related best practices for Adopt-a-Beach Team Leaders on the Safety and Your Adopt-a-Beach Cleanup page. You will find information about weather safety, high water levels, and general Adopt-a-Beach safety guidelines.

Yes! We have free lesson plans you can use before, during, and after your Adopt-a-Beach cleanup. The Alliance also offers a Great Lakes curriculum for grades K-12 – Great Lakes in My World – available as a free download.