Tallahassee's Lake Elberta is a natural oasis in the middle of the city's hustle and bustle. The Apalachee Audubon Society organized volunteers to clean the lake's shoreline and surrounding trail Saturday, March 27.
One of the cleanup organizers was Florida A&M University environmental student and Apalachee Audubon Society intern Ciera Danae Nelson. She worries about the growing stresses Lake Elberta is subject to.
"The increase in development of the apartment complexes and overall infrastructure of the roads definitely have an impact on the pollution levels as it creates more and more stormwater runoff that keeps pumping into the lake," she noted.
Chloe Thompson, an intern with WFSU Public Media in partnership with the Apalachee Audubon Society, worked with Nelson to gather the volunteers and organize the event. Volunteers spent much of Saturday pulling trash and debris from the lakeshore and bottom. Something Nelson would like to see continued.
"So, I would hope this could become a routine event, like once a month, getting the public out here and coming out to support a great cause, because the lake is a wonderful resource. But we all need to pitch in and take care of it."
Lake Elberta and its park are among seven such facilities under the oversight of the City of Tallahassee.
More info on the Lake Elberta cleanup project is available on the WFSU Ecology Blog.
