Give your students a hands-on connection to science and their community with Adopt-a-Beach.
For 30 years, the Adopt-a-Beach program has brought people together to keep Great Lakes shorelines healthy, safe, and beautiful. This year-round service learning opportunity lets you teach outdoors at your local Great Lakes shoreline.
Students connect to a local beach while learning about beach health and the impacts a community can have on natural areas.
Register an Adopt-a-Beach Cleanup for Your Students
Scheduling a cleanup for your students is easy – visit adopt.greatlakes..org to register your cleanup at a beach, date, and time that works for your group.
At the cleanup, students will collect litter and record data on what they find. Afterwards, you’ll enter the data online at adopt.greatlakes.org. The litter data you enter, as well as historical litter data, are available to use in classrooms for analyzing and interpreting data, constructing explanations and designing solutions. Please contact us at adoptabeach@greatlakes.org to request data.
If you have any questions, Alliance staff are here to help! You can reach us at alliance@greatlakes.org. Want to get involved? Learn about becoming a team leader.
We’ll give you:
- Help finding a beach to adopt
- Data collection forms
- Online training
- Lesson plans for before, during and after your field trip
Download Lesson Plans for Adopt-a-Beach
The Great Lakes In My World Adopt-a-Beach lesson plans are designed to support students in thinking critically about how humans impact the environment. Learn more and download free lesson plans here.