Club Meeting:
Important calendar items:
Now - October 12th; Community corner tent at Shelburne Farmers Market; sign up to help
August 17th Mount Philo state Park Hike; everyone is welcome
September 13th Golf Ball Drop, fundraiser for the fire and rescue services - buy your tickets!
September 21st and 22nd is the second annual CSH Rotary Classic Pickleball Tournament
October 27th is the Halloween Parade, sponsored and organized by the CSH Rotary club
November 1st thru 7th is the WindowDressers build week
Last week, the Rotary Dragon Boat Team had an incredible day with fifteen Rotarians and friends turning out to man the boat, winning our first heat by more than two boat lengths, and improving our time in the second heat by over a second! Meeting Rotarians from other clubs and experiencing the camaraderie was fantastic. You can find photos on our website and in the Shelburne News.
Colleen Hickey from the Lake Champlain Basin Program spoke with the club today. Colleen has led outreach programs in the Lake Champlain watershed across northern New York, Vermont and southern Quebec since 1991, focusing on media, school programs, educator training, and public outreach. The Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program coordinates and funds efforts that benefit the Lake Champlain Basin's water quality, fisheries, wetlands, wildlife, recreation, and cultural resources. The program works in partnership with federal agencies; state and provincial agencies from New York, Quebec and Vermont; local communities; businesses; and citizen groups. These partners lead collaborative actions to address water quality and environmental challenges that cross political boundaries in a binational watershed. There was much discussion among the Rotarians about the beaches on Lake Champlain - interestingly, beaches on Lake Champlain are safe for swimming most times. Pathogens are watched closely all over Lake Champlain. Combined sewer overflow events are sources of bacteria contamination. These events are increasing due to the large rain storms and sewer overflow is a real challenge to eliminate. Phosphorus levels in Lake Champlain must be reduced to consistently meet water quality goals. Many efforts are underway to reduce phosphorus loading and these efforts are having a real impact in cleaning up our lake. Much more information can be found in the 2024 State of the Lake and Ecosystem Indicators Report - there are copies in the Shelburne Town Offices.