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About Us
Mission Statement
Lake Huron Coastal Centre fosters community awareness and action for a healthy Lake Huron coast, inspiring this generation to protect and restore coastal waters, life and landscapes for those that follow.
About the Centre
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre is a non-government charitable organization established in 1998 with the goals of protecting and restoring Lake Huron's coastal environment, and supporting a healthy coastal ecosystem through education, restoration, and research projects.
The LHCC is the only grassroots organization focused on protecting the coastal environment lake-wide; we are the voice for Lake Huron.
We currently implement several programs, including Coast Watchers Community Science, Shoreline Cleanups, the Microplastic Awareness Project, Coastal Conservation Youth Corps (CCYC), and Green Ribbon Champion (GRC) beach restoration program.
We also have projects managing invasive species, and restoring coastal wetlands and sand dunes. Outside of our projects we deliver many presentations to youth groups, municipalities, and cottagers’ associations, and have developed a large library of coastal educational materials over the past 20 years.
The Coastal Centre recognizes that its work has to include the economic and social dimensions of sustainability. The Coastal Centre believes that coastal communities cannot have a healthy economy unless they have a healthy environment. To achieve this, the Coastal Centre uses a science-based approach to link academic researchers, local and regional politicians, resource managers, cottagers and municipal staff to improve decision-making and inspire environmental action to safeguard and improve the lake ecosystem.
By supporting the efforts of the Centre, you can help to ensure that we pass on a positive environmental legacy to our future generations.
Our Priorities
Water Quality
The quality of our nearshore coastal waters and estuaries has become a point of great concern to the Lake Huron community in recent years. The scope of the problem is regional, but the most effective efforts to improve water quality will be made at the grassroots level. Through bi-national lake-wide planning at the regional level, and research, education and community stewardship at the local level, the Coastal Centre is in a unique position to contribute to long term solutions.
Biodiversity
The biological diversity of Lake Huron’s coast is being compromised by over-development, fragmentation of forest areas, the spread of invasive species, and damage to sensitive coastal environments. Biodiversity is important to ecosystem health, to the recreation and tourism economies, and even to human health. The Coastal Centre, through education, research and community stewardship, is undertaking efforts to help restore the biodiversity of the coast and minimize future losses.
Climate Change
Climate change has far reaching implications for the Lake Huron environment. All of us who work or play along the Lake Huron coast will be affected. Through research and education, the Coastal Centre is raising awareness of this issue locally, and encouraging individuals and communities to pay close attention to this important emerging issue.
Coastal Processes
Coastal processes, like water level fluctuations, flooding, erosion, coastal wetland processes, and beach and dune systems, are vital to the ecology of Lake Huron. It is important to understand these processes in the context of the coastal ecosystem so that we don’t harm the lakeshore environment through unwise actions. Through education, research, community stewardship and its technical advisory services, the Coastal Centre helps individuals, community groups and local governments work with the coastal environment to minimize their impact.