October Currents, 2019

Did you know that the Great Lakes are the biggest freshwater source in the world? Lake Erie is the most productive for fishing of all the Great Lakes. Your support helps make our streams clean, clear and healthy so they can support this complex ecosystem. By donating to PCS, you help us reach our goals of restoring rivers that lead to Lake Erie beaches that promote fishable and swimmable conditions for generations.

Support PCS - Donate Now!

October

Clean Your Streams volunteer with trash foundWe had a very successful 23rd Annual Clean Your Streams Day on Saturday, September 21st!  Approximately 900 volunteers came out to our seven kickoff sites throughout the greater Toledo area and helped to clear our waterways of trash.  The day was sunny and warm, with no rain to slow our volunteers down! We are currently working to tally all the data cards, so we can get back to you soon with a total number of pounds of trash collected.  Make sure to check in with us on social media to view pictures, stats, and fun finds from the day. 

Participants provided a lot of positive event feedback and made pledges to increase their use of re-usable items like water bottles and food containers. Many veteran participants told us that they try to never miss this event, and newer participants said they now see this as a great way to get students and children involved in helping to take care of our natural resources. Some interesting discoveries of the day include a car bumper, an inflatable swimming pool, traffic cones, and a Jeep Power Wheels.

Collage of CYS volunteer picturesWe couldn’t pull off Clean Your Streams Day without the generous support from sponsors, partners, volunteers, and planning team members.  We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our generous donors who believe in clean, clear, and safe water by financially supporting Clean Your Streams 2019. Many thanks to NOAA, O-I Charities Foundation, LyondellBasell, The University of Toledo Foundation, City of Toledo Environmental Services, First Solar, Lucas County Storm Water Utility, City of Oregon, Kwest Group, and Toledo Waterways Initiative for major financial support. Your support allowed us to equip our volunteers with cleanup supplies, host the Appreciation Picnic, and support the many staff hours that go into Clean Your Streams Day.

The Appreciation Picnic was made even more fun with raffle and door-prizes for our volunteers. Donations included merchandise and gift cards from a variety of local businesses. Some lucky raffle prize winners walked away with tickets to African Wildlife Safari, COSI, the Stranahan Theater, the Toledo Zoo, or University of Toledo Football games. Thank you to all of our donors for making the raffle so much fun!  We would also like to thank Brian Beard for MC’ing the Appreciation Picnic; he did a great job!

Our CYS planning team members work on this program for months to ensure that we have enough volunteers, sites, donations, and support to make the event successful.  Thanks to our excellent planning team:  Marilyn DuFour (City of Toledo), Bryan Twitchell (Monroe St. United Methodist Church), Tim Neiderkorn (UT), Randy Nissen (TECHS), Erika Buri and Rick Bryan (Olander Park System), Kristin Jenkins and Ariya Fathi (Hull Inc.), Andrea Beard and Don Nelson (City of Oregon), Lauren Rush (City of Perrysburg), Kevin Laughlin (Wood County Engineers), and Bob Neubert (Lucas County Engineers). The support and advice that these individuals provided helped to make the planning and execution process very smooth!

Finally, our ‘Thank You’ list would not be complete without acknowledging our awesome volunteers!  We had a really good turnout for this year’s event. Thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to volunteer to make our local water safer for residents and wildlife alike! Please remember that you can continue to support clean streams year round by donating to PCS or signing up for one of our other programs other programs.

ZOOTeens accepting their challenge awardThanks to all our groups, schools, and organizations who signed up for our annual Challenge Awards and River Partner Certifications! The waterways were the true winners of the day, but read below to see who earned the dirt on their shirt as they cleaned their streams!

Youth Challenges:

1st place Battle of the Bags (most bags of trash) – Toledo Early College High School – 94 bags

1st place Most Volunteers – Toledo Early College High School – 141 volunteers

1st place Awesome Effort (bags/person) – Toledo ZOOTeens– 3.22/person

Collegiate Challenges:

1st place Battle of the Bags (most bags of trash) – BGSU Environmental Service Club – 47.5 bags

1st place Most Volunteers – BGSU Environmental Service Club – 10 volunteers

1st place Awesome Effort (bags/person) – BGSU Environmental Service Club – 4.75 bags/person

River Partner Certifications:

Watershed Warrior (50+ volunteers) – First Solar (88)

Stream Protector (10-29 volunteers) – Westside Montessori (26), Johns Manville (18), LyondellBasell (17), Ohio EPA Northwest District Office (14), Monroe Street United Methodist Church (14), Owens-Illinois (17)


Creek Crusaders (1-9 volunteers) – Toledo Divisions of Environmental Services and Water Reclamation (8), Toledo Correctional Institution (6), Toledo Campus Ministry (3)

Picture of a herdlingIf you visited Momentum Toledo before or after Clean Your Streams, you likely noticed the exhibit ‘The Herd’ by artist Kelley Bell. The intention of this exhibit was to call attention to the discrepancy that is sometimes a reality between local waterways and accessible local waterways. It is not uncommon in dense urban areas for waterways to be inaccessible to local residents; accessibility can be an issue due to physical access barriers and/or water quality safety concerns. Bell has reached out to us at Partners for Clean Streams (PCS) and has offered to sell her “herdlings” and donate $5 of each sale to PCS to help further our water quality initiatives. If you took a liking to these cute critters and are interested in purchasing one to enjoy in the pool or lake, click on this link for order details.

Currents: October 2019


Your donation, no matter how small, can make a huge difference in the long run. Every penny goes a long way in protecting your water.

Keep Current and Follow us on Social Media

PCS on Facebook PCS on Twitter
PCS on Instragram PCS on Youtube


Bob Neubert

President of the Board
Lucas Co. Engineers

Andrew Curran
Vice President
Assistant Scout Executive,
Boy Scouts of America

Joan King
Treasurer
First Solar

Kyle Spicer
Secretary
Private Citizen

Denise Fonner
Board Member
Private Citizen

Chris Smalley
Board Member
Park Services Supervisor
Metroparks of the Toledo Area

Bill Hoefflin
Board Member
Private Citizen

Bill Buri
Board Member
Pexco Packaging

 

Partners for Clean Streams Inc. is striving for abundant open space and a high quality natural environment; adequate floodwater storage capacities and flourishing wildlife; stakeholders who take local ownership in their resources; and rivers, streams and lakes that are clean, clear and safe