South Lake High School is located within a quarter mile of one of Michigan's largest lakes, Lake St. Clair. Unfortunately, instead of being known as "the heart of the Great Lakes" it has been more recently labeled "the Great Lakes' toilet bowl." In the last 20 years Lake St. Clair has had severe environmental degradation from invasive species, sewage releases, chemical spills, and algal blooms. Since our school is so close to the lake, we realized the importance of taking an active stance on preserving its many resources. We brainstormed many ideas and decided to tackle the issue of fertilizer run-off leading to an increase in algae in the lake.

The Lake St. Clair watershed is mostly urban and the majority of the residents living within that urban area use fertilizers on their property. Fertilizers contain nitrogen and phosphorus to improve the growth of plants on land; unfortunately they also improve the growth of plants in the water. When residents fertilize their lawn, excess fertilizer runs-off their property, eventually flowing into the lake. The excess nutrients cause eutrophication of the lake, which leads to many problems. Recreational activities such as boating and swimming are greatly impacted. Boaters are frustrated as their motors become entangled in the seaweed and swimmers choose not to visit local beaches due to the algae infested waters and beachfronts. When the plant life dies, the decomposition process depletes the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water leading to less aquatic life and increased levels of bacteria. As a result, local communities are seeing a drop in the recreational, ecological, and economic values of the lake.

To solve the problem, the students in the environmental club felt that they needed to educate consumers and fertilizer retailers about fertilizers that are both great for their lawn and safe for the lake. There are several brands of fertilizers that contain slow-releasing nitrogen, low levels of phosphorus, and very little pesticides that are lake-safe and effective. We felt that if consumers were educated about the positive impact of these fertilizers, then they would buy them. In a consumer driven market, if the consumer wants lake-safe fertilizers, then more retailers would carry the products. That in turn would mean less fertilizer in the lake and less algae.

The students started the program in 2005 in the city of St. Clair Shores with the help of the St. Clair Shores Waterfront Advisory Committee. Six local businesses agreed to label their lake-safe fertilizers with bright green stickers indicating that they were safe to use near the lake. The program was an immediate success and all of the businesses saw an increase in lake safe fertilizer sales and were enthusiastic about continuing the program in the future. The following year, the students wanted to expand their program to include the entire county. They needed the approval and financial support of the Macomb County Water Quality Board and the County Board of Commissioners. The students made several presentations and learned a great deal about lobbying. In the process, the program was approved and has now grown to include over 25 businesses spread across the entire county. Our goal for the future is to continue to add more businesses including large chain stores like Lowes, Home Depot, and Meijers. Eventually we would like the entire state of Michigan to have a similar program and possibly eliminate the sale of high phosphorus fertilizers completely.

Partner Statement

The Nature Conservancy is proud to support the South Lake High School Environmental Club for their collaborative approach to freshwater conservation for the Lake St. Clair watershed. The Nature Conservancy congratulates South Lake for bringing partners together such as county government, local and statewide businesses and consumers to solve conservation issues and raising awareness. We look forward to partnering with South Lake to improve the recreational, ecological and economic value of the lake.