Great Lakes Awareness Day – May 1, 2023

History of Great Lakes Awareness Day

Most people believe that Lake Erie came into its current state of being some 10,000 years ago, while Lake Ontario was around 7,000 years ago, and Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior were formed (at present-day levels) around 3,000 years ago. But, lakes are everywhere, so these five shouldn’t have attracted any special interest. The main reason (at least initially) for the Great Lakes gaining prominence was their ability to provide very easy transportation routes into the heart of the American continent.

Then, people started seeing the forests and fertile lands around these lakes — perfect for agriculture, lumbering, and other activities. The perfect addition to this was the plentiful deposits of natural minerals found on the shorelines of these lakes, including iron, salt, copper, large coal mines, limestone, and more. These resources, plus the abundant water supply, made these lakes very attractive for development, and the shores were soon lined with huge industries and large metropolitan areas.

Of course, the excess human population and activity around the lakes had to have consequences, which were first officially noticed around the 1900s. By 1950, a high number of beaches had to be closed down because of pollution and unsafe conditions. The wildlife from the areas surrounding the lakes began to exhibit signs of toxic substances. These incidents, plus the pollution in the rivers and the extinction of certain water-based animals, gave the authorities a giant wake-up call. By the 1970s, the governments of both America and Canada — these lakes travel through both nations — had begun to collaboratively work on pollution control in these lakes.

These two countries even signed a ‘Great Lakes Water Quality Act’ in 1972 to protect and conserve the Great Lakes. Since that time, the Great Lakes have benefitted from multiple conservation efforts — both governmental and private — and now have an improved water quality. Some fish populations have even begun to repopulate these waters after many years. Held since 2014, the Great Lakes Awareness Day creates exactly what it aims: awareness. Students are encouraged to find solutions to pollution problems, and their projects are highlighted on this day.

Great Lakes Awareness Day celebrates one of nature’s most glorious wonders — the largest group of freshwater bodies on Earth — saddled up in North America. The Great Lakes is the collective name for Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Erie. The lakes together make up the largest group of freshwater bodies on Earth, stretching from east to west and covering a distance of 750 miles. Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. It covers more than 80% of the water requirement of the continent. 

It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Great Lakes for the people of North America. Great Lakes Awareness Day raises important questions and demands accountability from leaders who are in charge of protecting these majestic water bodies. 

The holiday is an awareness campaign that illustrates the dangers that the Great Lakes face. An alarming number of issues endanger the Great Lakes, including pollution, climate change, carbon dioxide emissions, and invasive pipelines. Although the federal government has tried to restore the balance with more than 140 programs, it still isn’t enough. As the United States and Canada share the five lakes, both governments need to work in unison to combat the issues that threaten the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem.

It also illuminates the ways in which climate change will impact our habitat and the way we live, starting with the water bodies on Earth. Needless to say that the impact of climate change can already be felt at the Great Lakes, with the changes in size and shape of Algae, the primary constituent of the underwater food web.