Healing Our Waters Coalition » Events

Dates set for 2012 Great Lakes Days

Jeff Alexander — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:16:37 +0000

Thanksgiving has yet to arrive but it is already time to start planning for the 2012 edition of Great Lakes Days in Washington, D.C. The event will be held Feb. 28-29 in Washington.

Every year, more than 100 citizens from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin travel to our nation’s capital to educate public officials about the importance of the Great Lakes to the region’s economy and quality of life.

“Citizens have been instrumental in making Great Lakes restoration a priority with the U.S. Congress and President Obama,” said Jeff Skelding, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “Restoration activities are producing results—but there is more work to do. Great Lakes Days provide an important opportunity to underscore the importance of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to people, businesses and communities.”

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition hosts Great Lakes Days in collaboration with the Great Lakes Commission and Northeast-Midwest Institute. The coalition hosts training sessions for Great Lakes advocates and help arrange meetings with Congressional staffers and public officials.

One of the key topics at the 2012 event will be educating members of Congress about the need for continued funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Stay tuned for more details—including information on office visits with U.S. Senate and House offices.

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin on Great Lakes Week: ‘lakes are central to our economy’

Jordan Lubetkin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:46:39 +0000

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) is weighing in on the Great Lakes Week in Detroit:

“I am delighted that so many people are in Detroit this week to celebrate the Great Lakes and work to protect them. The lakes are central to our economy, our history, our culture, and our future. Millions of people depend on these lakes for their drinking water, transportation, trade, employment and recreation. We need to ensure that our best efforts and most innovative solutions focus on the restoration and protection of these jewels.”

Public TV in 20 Markets to Cover Great Lakes Week

Jordan Lubetkin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:45:35 +0000

Great Lakes Week coverage is spreading across North America, as Detroit Public Television announced 20 media markets signing up to carry coverage of the week’s proceedings—including the 7th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference presented by the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. Participating outlets include:

New York – WNET-TV
Chicago – WTTW-TV
HoustonPBS
Phoenix – KAET-TV
Twin Cities Public Television
Lakeland Public Television (Minnesota)
Pioneer Public Television (Minnesota)
Miami – WPBT-TV
Cleveland – WVIZ-TV

St. Louis – KETC-TV
Indianapolis – WFYI-TV
Milwaukee – WMVT/WMVS-TV
Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo – WGVK/WGVU-TV
Central Michigan University Public Television
Toledo – WGTE-TV
Rochester, New York – WXXI-TV
Illinois Public Media
Penn State Public Broadcasting
Lansing, Michigan – WKAR-TV
Prairie Public Television (North Dakota)
Duluth, Minnesota – WDSE/KRPT-TV
Rochester, Minnesota – KSMQ-TV
Windsor, Ontario – CTV

Great Lakes Now streamed content will be available to viewers everywhere starting on October 11, at www.greatlakesnow.org. There’s still time for news outlets and other websites to stream coverage. Contact Matt Friedman at mfriedman@tannerfriedman.com if you’re interested.

You can also follow proceedings of the 7th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference on this site. We’ll be offering live streaming, as well as photos, video and updates throughout the week.

Detroit Proving to be a Leader in Great Lakes Restoration

Jeff Alexander — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:35:27 +0000

The Detroit River and Detroit's skyline (Photo by Detroit Riverkeeper Robert Burns)

Detroit is the place to be this week, and not just because the Detroit Tigers are battling for a spot in the World Series and the Red Wings are hosting their first home game of the season. The first ever Great Lakes Week is also taking place this week in the Motor City.

It is fitting that this monumental event — which will feature the annual meetings of several Great Lakes organizations, including the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition’s 7th annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference — is taking place in Detroit.

The city best known for churning out cars and rock stars is gaining a reputation as a national leader in ecosystem restoration. We’re highlighting a few of Detroit’s Great Lakes restoration success stories on our site.
In the coming months, the coalition will release a larger report about Great Lakes restoration projects that are improving the lives of Detroit residents and bolstering efforts to revitalize the city’s economy.

Detroit’s budding environmental renaissance is proof that federal environmental programs — such as the Great Lakes Legacy Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Great Lakes Restoration Initiative — deliver results and can bring about profound changes in distressed communities.

We’ve been following the effort to restore the Great Lakes and have been chronicling successful restoration projects from across the region.

You can read about them here.

Or, contact us if you have a restoration story you’d like to share.

Connect Online to Restore the Great Lakes

janssenj — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:09:30 +0000

The Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Restoration Coalition’s 7^th Annual Conference happening October 12-14 in Detroit is going global.

You can participate in the conference online, whether attending in person or tuning in from across the country.

For the first time, the Great Lakes Restoration Conference proceedings will be live streamed and accessible online at conference.healthylakes.org and GreatLakesNow.org thanks to a new partnership with organizations including Detroit Public Television.

By visiting the conference website, you can watch keynote addresses and certain sessions online as they happen; access interviews and taped sessions; take a look at presentation materials; and read about the discussions and outcomes of sessions thanks to live blogging.

Connect with us online today:

Tune into live streams and live blogs at conference.healthylakes.org
Like our Healing Our Waters Facebook page
Follow @healthylakes on Twitter
View and share presentations on SlideSharefrom the conference
Subscribe to healingourwaters YouTube videos

Join in and share your thoughts, learn what Great Lake advocates are saying, and take action to restore the Great Lakes–whether you are at the Conference in Detroit in person or on the other side of the country.

Hot off the Press: 2011 Great Lakes Conference Program

Jordan Lubetkin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:28:34 +0000

The 2011 Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Conference is right around the corner. Check out the final conference booklet. Even if you cannot join us in Detroit, Oct. 12-14, you can still participate by joining us on your favorite social media network and following the conference proceedings at healthylakes.org, where you’ll find live-streaming of sessions, photos, video, and other resources.

Calling All Media: We Want You to Participate in Great Lakes Week!

Jordan Lubetkin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:47:03 +0000

Next week, from October 11-14, citizens, activists, agencies and elected officials will gather in Detroit, Mich., to discuss the future of the Great Lakes as part of Great Lakes Week. We’re asking media to participate in this unprecedented event. There are many ways to do so:

live stream the event on your Web site
carry a live re-cap of the day’s proceedings via satellite link
use content from the day’s proceedings

Read an overview of public television coverage and participation opportunities.

Check out a Read a press release announcing opportunities to participate in Great Lakes week.

See the full menu of options Detroit Public Television is offering to regional media here.

DPTV has also established a FTP site that contains webstream embed code information, details on satellite coordinates, promos and graphics. To access that information, please use the following link: http://bit.ly/GreatLakesNOW

By covering Great Lakes Week, media outlets can play a huge role in reminding people about how important the Great Lakes are, the threats they face, and the solutions that will help nurse them back to health.

For more information on how your newspaper, television station, radio station or online blog or Web site can participate in Great Lakes week, contact Jordan Lubetkin of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition at Lubetkin@nwf.org or Matt Friedman at Detroit Public Television at mfriedman@tannerfriedman.com

Detroit Public TV to Offer Unprecedented Access to Great Lakes Week

Jordan Lubetkin — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:04:17 +0000

As we approach 2011 Great Lakes Week, Detroit Public Television is offering unprecedented opportunities for media and other organizations to follow the week’s proceedings – including the 7th Annual Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Conference. With live streaming and daily recaps of the day’s events, the station’s commitment to the Great Lakes will help people in Michigan and around the region stay abreast of important issues. Read more in the following news release.

You can also read this story in Detroit Crain’s Business.

Nominate Someone for a Great Laker Award Today!

Jordan Lubetkin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:18:22 +0000

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is accepting nominations for its annual Great Laker Awards until Wednesday, July 27. The coalition announces award winners in the fall at its annual conference.
This year, the conference is in Detroit, Mich., October 12-14.

Please consider making a nomination to honor those who have demonstrated their passion for restoring and protecting the Great Lakes.

Nominations may be made in the following categories: Citizens, Public Official, Media, Business, and Lifetime Achievement.

Nominate someone by filling out our nomination form today. It’s quick and easy.

Wanted: Compelling Great Lakes Restoration Presentations for 2011 Conference

Jordan Lubetkin — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:21:16 +0000

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is issuing a “request for presentations” from people who would like to lead a workshop session at the coalition’s 7th Annual Great Lakes Restoration Conference.

This year’s conference takes place October 12-14, 2011, at the Westin Book Cadillac in Detroit, Mich.

Applications are due May 1, 2011.

Read the request for applications and send in a proposal—and we’ll see you in Detroit.