More than 10,000 attendees visited The Edgewater and frozen Lake Mendota over eight days this February, making 2020 our biggest Frozen Assets yet! THANK YOU to all of our sponsors, guests, volunteers, and event partners who made this year’s festival, fundraiser, and new evening events a huge success.
Get ready for a full slate of activities on ice and on land at the 2020 Frozen Assets Festival! Clean Lakes Alliance’s sixth annual winter festival is expanding to a full week of fun at The Edgewater in Madison, Wisconsin from Sunday, February 2nd through Saturday, February 8th.
Tyler Leeper has a deep connection to our lakes, and an even greater investment in their health. As the owner of Madison Boats, which includes Wingra Boats, Brittingham Boats, and Marshall Boats on Lakes Mendota, Monona, and Wingra, his family business is dependent on water quality and lake health.
At Clean Lakes Alliance, we work for our lakes all year long. Keep reading to learn five great ways YOU can get involved with the watershed this winter and support cleaner, healthier lakes!
Clean Lakes Alliance was pleased to hold its first ever Clean Lakes Community Awards presented by Town Bank on Tuesday, November 27th, 2019. In light of significant challenges facing our lakes, we have been overwhelmed by the community’s response. The awards program recognized outstanding businesses, organizations, and individuals who have made our lakes a top priority.
“I can honestly say, over the last few years, I have seen a big shift towards greater community involvement in lake health,” said Clean Lakes Alliance board chair Lloyd Eagan in address to the audience and awardees.
American author, scientist, and conservationist Aldo Leopold once said, “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
Clean Lakes Alliance knows connections to the land and to our waters begin to develop in childhood. Through a Clean Lakes Grant awarded for 2018, Madison Friends of Urban Nature (FUN) is connecting families and children to nature and our Yahara Lakes. Clean Lakes Alliance contributed $1,250 to the effort, helping to expand outdoor learning opportunities that can lead to future generations of caring and knowledgeable lake stewards.
Early experiences in nature can create lasting connections to the land and water that surrounds us. But many local residents don’t have opportunities to enjoy or learn about one of Greater Madison’s most prominent public resources; our lakes. Thanks to a $1,000 grant from the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, Clean Lakes Alliance is working to shift that reality through the restructuring and expansion of our Lake Explorer Camp.
Urban trees provide many benefits to our communities. They help us save energy, reduce noise, and improve air quality. Trees are aesthetically pleasing, can increase property value, and provide natural homes for insects, birds, and other wildlife. Trees are also an important part of the earth’s water cycle. Transpiration from plants and trees is released into the atmosphere, and later becomes precipitation. The rain and snow return valuable moisture to our crops and forests, and the cycle continues.
However, trees can cause problems for our lakes if the leaves that fall from them each autumn are not regularly removed from streets and parking lots. When leaves collect on streets, they create a phosphorus-rich “tea” whenever it rains. The rain water passes through the leaf litter, and allows phosphorus to drain from the leaves. The leaf tea washes into storm drains and flows directly into our lakes, causing water quality to deteriorate.
From cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms, to elevated bacteria (E. coli) levels, to flooding, our lakes have had a tough season. With our lakes facing so many obstacles, it makes Clean Lakes Alliance even more appreciative of its volunteers.
Clean Lakes Alliance is excited to partner with the Friends of Lake Kegonsa Society (FOLKS) for one of our 2018 Clean Lakes Grants. FOLKS is a non-profit organization working to protect the environment and recreation of Lake Kegonsa and its surroundings.
Leaf management in the Yahara River Watershed is an important step toward creating healthy lakes. By following effective leaf practices, we can reduce the amount of phosphorus reaching our waters. Phosphorus is a naturally occurring element found in leaves, dirt, manure, and other organic matter and is the root cause of water quality problems in the region. When excessive amounts enter our lakes, phosphorus can fuel toxic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) growth which can harm people and animals.
