Advocates finishing walk around Lake Superior and Lake Michigan
Sep 14, 2017 11:57AM ● By Editor
IRON RIVER, Mich. (WLUC) - The Great Lakes are the largest freshwater system on the planet.
35 million people depend on them everyday for drinking water alone.
That's why two Milwaukee women are walking around Lake Michigan and Lake Superior: to raise awareness of the importance of the lakes.
Meet Julia Robson and Alyssa Armbruster. They've been walking around the Great Lakes since August 26. They started from Milwaukee and have followed Lake Michigan to arrive at Iron River. Both ladies are making a 332 mile trek from Lake Michigan to Lake Superior to raise awareness to Great Lakes conservation.
"I guess what we were hoping to come from this project is to provide outreach to the community and reach out to everybody to show how far the Great Lakes have come since the clean water act, since the EPA and Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and how far we've come since then," said Co-Founded Alyssa Armbruster.
As of Wednesday, the women have walked 240 miles which averages 15 to 20 miles per day. They're on a mission: helping others become advocates for the Great Lakes, too.
"It was really cool to reach out to communities that were on the inside of the basin," continued Armbruster. "They may not have realized what they do on the inland standpoint is coming in through rivers and streams and affecting what comes into our Great Lakes."
They will end next week in the Porcupine Mountains on Lake Superior's shoreline. It was a challenging, but powerful excursion for them.
"When you're walking day--in and day-out, it tends to wear on your feet a bit. We both were prepared mentally to deal with foot pain, but the first some 160 miles were all done on pavement. That wears on your feet more so than dirt or gravel," said Founder Julia Robson.
The ladies are raising money for the Alliance for the Great Lakes and Discovery World non-profits. You can help their goal of $10,000 by visiting our related links tab.