Get Involved
Photo credit: Lysa Gudz
Dive In, Do Your Part
Join us in our mission to safeguard the beautiful waters of Grand Traverse Bay and our inland lakes and streams for all to enjoy. With a community-wide commitment to clean water, we will all enjoy our waters for generations to come.
Volunteer
Help The Watershed Center make a difference by giving your time or talents. For more information or to discuss how you can be involved, contact Grand Traverse Bay WATERKEEPER® Heather Smith at hsmith@gtbay.org.
- Adopt-A-Stream: Assemble a team of volunteers — families, schools, neighborhood, office teams — to monitor water quality within the watershed twice a year. Stream sponsorships are also available.
- Beach Cleanups: Help remove trash and debris along our beaches, shorelines, and streambanks.
- Watershed Warrior: Become a citizen advocate by speaking up to oppose threats to water quality in your community and to support local decisions and efforts that protect water quality.
- General office tasks: Put your computer/office skills to use while helping our team with tasks such as data entry, mailing preparations, or simple organizing.
Events
Connect with our waters and our mission through our events.
- Stream Trivia Night – Wednesday, April 9, 2025, 6-8pm at Silver Spruce Brewing’s Silver Lake location
Whether you’re an avid angler, a trivia wizard, or just a nature lover, you will want to join us for our first water trivia night. We’re looking forward to a fun night filled with friendly competition, great brews, and learning something new about the waters you love. - On Tap with TWC – Wednesday, April 16, 2025, 4-6pm at MiddleCoast Brewing Company
Join our team for On Tap with TWC…with a twist! We’ve re-envisioned our popular happy hour gatherings, mixing in more opportunities for attendees to learn about priorities in our watershed and dive a little deeper on hot topics. We invite supporters and community members to join us for an evening of learning and connecting. The event is free, but advanced registration is encouraged to assist with planning. - Beach Cleanups
Join us for Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup events and see our autonomous beach cleaning robot in action.- Sunday, April 27, 2025, 1-3pm at the Volleyball Beach in Traverse City. Register in advance or at the event.
- Sunday, April 27, 2025, 1-3pm at the Volleyball Beach in Traverse City. Register in advance or at the event.
- Adopt-A-Stream – June 8, 2025, 12-5pm at the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy’s Mitchell Creek Meadows Preserve
During this one-day event, participants will receive a brief orientation or TWC’s volunteer stream monitoring program and be divided into teams to sample aquatic macroinvertebrates in tributaries of Mitchell Creek. After sampling, everyone will come together for an afternoon of picking, sorting, and identifying macroinvertebrates with the aid of experts. The content of this training is technical in nature and adults with a child under 12 are asked to contact Heather at hsmith@gtbay.org before registering. Please register in advance. - Swim for Grand Traverse Bay – Saturday, August 9, 2025, 8am at Sutton Park in Suttons Bay
Celebrate clean, healthy water in Grand Traverse Bay with a unique, open water swim event to benefit The Watershed Center. - Freshwater Summit – Thursday, October 30, 2025, 9am-3pm at the Hagerty Center
Join environmental professionals, citizens, and businesses to discuss the latest research, projects, and initiatives that impacts the Great Lakes and Grand Traverse Bay regions.
Connect with us as we collaborate with other organizations and events in our community.
- Fly Fishing Film Tour – Saturday, March 1, 2025, at the Traverse City Opera House, doors open at 6:30 and films begin at 7:30pm
Join TWC and fellow fishing enthusiasts for an unforgettable night as The Northern Angler brings the Fly Fishing Film Tour back to Traverse City. Admission is $25 or $20 for groups of 10+ or students 18 or younger and can be purchased from the Opera House. A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to The Watershed Center. - Grand Traverse Bay’s Lifelines: Streams, Lakes, and You – Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 6-7pm at Oryana
Join our Grand Traverse Bay WATERKEEPER® for a conversation about the uniqueness of the Grand Traverse Bay watershed, water quality threats in the region, and TWC’s work in protecting and restoring this regional gem. Tickets are free, but please register.
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