Loreen Niewenhuis
Having already walked over 500 miles, writer and adventurer Loreen Niewenhuis prepares to embark on the next segments of her 1,000 mile walk around Lake Michigan. She began her adventure in March on Chicago’s Navy Pier and has walked south from Chicago, east across the entire Indiana coastline, and north up the west coast of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula all the way to Mackinaw City.
July will find her walking the south edge of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, around the west side of Green Bay, and across the Door Peninsula to the city of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. This is a distance of over 350 miles.
“I hit the 500 mile mark within sight of the Mackinac Bridge,” Niewenhuis said. “From there I could look across the Straits of Mackinac and see the beginning of the second half of the trek stretching out before me in the Upper Peninsula. It feels amazing to have come so far and to have seen so much of the lakeshore.”
“I’ve learned so much about the lake,” Niewenhuis said, noting that the turn-over time for the lake -- the time it takes to completely replace the water with incoming water from rivers and streams and precipitation -- is 99 years. “The lake still contains over half of the same water that I splashed around in as a kid.” She notes that this should make us realize that what we put in the lake today will be with us for a long time.
Niewenhuis also commented that everyone who cares about the Great Lakes should contact their representatives about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative making its way through Congress. “This is an important piece of legislation which provides money to tackle some of the issues which threaten our lakes. These include invasive species, toxic pollution cleanup, and habitat restoration for wildlife,” Niewenhuis noted, adding that, “this funding comes with a detailed strategy on how to best use the money for maximum results.”
The outcome of this seven month endeavor will be a book Niewenhuis proposes to be a “cross between Bill Bryson’s humorous and information-
Niewenhuis records the progress of the trek on her blog at http://LakeTrek.Blogspot.com
Visitors to the site can read about Niewenhuis’s journey which proceeds counter-clockwise around the lake. Her website, http://LoreenNiewenhuis.com will also provide additional information and insight on the author and her work, both published and in progress.
Niewenhuis has a Bachelor of Science degree from Calvin College, then a Master of Science from Wayne State University. This makes her uniquely qualified to explore and discuss some of the pressing environmental issues facing the lake: invasive species, pollution, water usage issues, and the effects of climate warming on the lake.
Most recently, Niewenhuis received a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing from Spalding University. Her short fiction has appeared in a variety of publications including The Antioch Review and The Bellevue Literary Review.
For real time information on the trek, please contact: Loreen Niewenhuis at 269-753-2605, or e-mail her at LakeTrek@comcast.net.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
