Cathy Dobson/The Independent

There’s encouraging signs that the health of Lake Huron coastline is improving but more volunteers are needed for monitoring, says the co-ordinator of the Lake Huron Coastal Centre.

Meredith Watson runs the centre’s Coast Watchers stewardship program and says more observers are being recruited to record everything from wildlife sightings and organic debris to plastic refuse and algae blooms.

Lake Huron has 6,170 kilometres of shoreline and is binational so no single agency can monitor it all without community help, Watson said.

Volunteers don’t need a science background but local knowledge is an asset because longtime residents have historical context and that’s very valuable, she said speaking at a Golden K Kiwanis Sarnia-Lambton meeting.

“Interest is awesome at the moment,” Watson said.

The centre has about 300 volunteers who report weekly using instruments provided to them that measure atmospheric conditions such as wind and wave direction, and water and air temperatures. They are also asked to keep track of wildlife they see, both dead and alive, monitor for algae, and report on how much man made and natural debris they find.

The Lake Huron Coastal Centre focuses primarily on the stretch from Sarnia to Tobermory but it does have volunteers elsewhere including on the American side.

About 40 new volunteers came from Sarnia at the beginning of May but more are needed, especially in the Lambton Shores region.

The centre’s goal is to engage the community in research, education and restoration, Watson said. Annual beach clean-ups are held including one at Canatara in Sarnia every fall.

Youth programs assist restoration projects and the information collected by Coast Watchers helps measure the health of the lake and shoreline.

Volunteers even report on “human activity” so the numbers using the beach can be assessed.

“While we are fortunate to enjoy our beaches, too many is not good,” Watson said.

Monitoring has uncovered some positive trends, she added.

For instance single-use plastic was found much less often in 2025 and no blue-green algae blooms that can produce toxins were observed last year.

To inquire about the Lake Huron Coastal Centre’s Coast Watchers program, visit lakehuron.ca/coastwatchers or email coastwatcherslakehuron.ca.

The 2026 watching season has just started and it’s not too late to get involved.