Currents July 2014

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.

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July 2014

Get the Lead Out with Sierra Club 2014We are currently recruiting volunteers for Storm Drain Marking and Get the Lead Out through August. Both volunteer opportunities are great ways for your volunteer group to improve our local waterways and ecosystems. For Storm Drain Marking, volunteers mark storm drains along neighborhood streets and parking lots, reminding everyone that drains lead straight to the nearest stream or river without the water being filtered or treated. This means we should not throw trash or dump anything down the storm drains. Storm Drain Marking can be done in various neighborhoods around the greater Toledo area and is perfect for groups over the age of 10. For Get the Lead Out, volunteers walk through a small section of the Maumee River and collect tangled fishing line and lead sinkers. We work in between Perrysburg and Maumee where the fishing for the Walleye Run is heaviest near Side Cut Metropark.  Both of the volunteer activities can be planned to fit your group’s or family’s schedule. Note that these events are weather dependent. If interested in either of these great activities, contact us and we would be happy to arrange the volunteer times and places.

OEPA CYS team results of trash from cleanup It is that time of year to round up your team to promote clean, clear, and safe waters in our local communities. Clean Your Streams (CYS) will be celebrating its 18th year of successfully removing debris from streams, river banks, and watersheds in Toledo and surrounding areas and you are invited. This year, on the morning of September 20th, join the hundreds of engaged volunteers by removing tons of trash from our local river banks. As the number of CYS volunteers grows, so does the positive influence we have on our local streams, river banks, and watersheds. Last year, 941 volunteers removed nearly 17,000 pounds of trash in the 17th Annual Clean Your Streams. The more friends, family members, and colleagues you encourage to join CYS, the bigger impact we will have on our local rivers.

Currently, we are looking for sponsors, door prizes, and monetary donations to make this event possible. It takes thousands of dollars and countless hours of work to organize CYS, and we are so thankful for those who have supported us in the past. If you want to help make this year’s CYS event a success, you can donate on our website or by contacting us directly. Until September 20th, get ready by putting September 20th on your calendar, start the volunteer solicitation in your office, start collecting Change for Change, and start practicing your trash collecting skills! Stay tuned for more details about Clean Your Streams on our website, including the opening of registration in early August.

 

Although Clean Your Streams is an exciting and gratifying event in itself, our most engaged cleanup teams have the opportunity to win different Challenge Competition Awards, including the newest Challenge, Change for Change. The friendly competitions between Youth, Corporate, Collegiate, and Organizational groups are a fun way to motivate all volunteers in making the largest positive impact possible on our waterways. During the cleanup, volunteer groups keep track of how many bags they fill and number of participants which are then submitted at the end of the event to determine the Challenge winners. Youth and Collegiate groups both have the chance of winning three different awards, including Battle of the Bags, Awesome Effort, and Most Volunteers. In addition, Corporate and Organizational groups will compete for the Most Volunteers Challenge Award. Battle of the Bags winners are dependent upon the total number of bags your group collects throughout the cleanup, whereas Awesome Effort winners are determined by the most bags per person for each group.

Change for Change, the newest Challenge category, is a great opportunity for volunteers of all ages and group sizes to benefit our local rivers and streams by donating loose change to Partners for Clean Streams. To participate, start collecting loose change now and bring it with you to the Appreciation Picnic after the cleanup for an official weigh-in. The group with the heaviest combined amount of change will win the Change for Change Challenge and receive a Mystery Award. So dump out your piggy bank, pick up that penny on the street corner, and empty those car cup holders! Set up a change jar in the office or pass it around at the next meeting! All donations benefit local waterways by supporting public education, volunteer activities, and restoration programs. To get started, click here to print a flyer for your own Change for Change jar!

The Stream Restoration Design: An Advanced Workshop, scheduled for the week of July 21st, has been canceled due to lack of registrations. We assume that everyone is out boating, fishing or playing in the beautiful rivers instead of coming to the workshop, which we understand. Watch our website for announcements for future opportunities.  

Ottawa River from bridgeHave you had the chance to check out the Ottawa River through the University of Toledo’s campus recently? Since the “construction” phase of the restoration has been completed for the University of Toledo Ottawa River Restoration Project, many invasive, harmful plants have been replaced by native trees and shrubs that are perfect for river bank habitat. In the past few weeks, the remaining trees and shrubs have been planted along this stretch of the river on campus, augmenting the work done by the Maumee Corps last summer. Interpretive signs will be strategically placed along the banks of the river, encouraging students and campus visitors to engage with the river and learn about the restoration and ecology work there. The signs will be in place when students return to classes this August. There are even newly constructed places for people to access the river banks. With so much positive attention put on the river, the ecosystem is responding positively, as new wildlife is being seen in and around the water. So next time you visit the University of Toledo’s campus, take a look and try to find the erosion control features, habitat enhancement, and riparian zone plantings. Or just enjoy the peaceful flow of the river, the cooling breeze through the trees, and remember the simple pleasures of a healthy river.

Currents: July 2014


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.

 

Change for Change - Participate & be a Partner!

 

Download the Get the Lead Out Flyer

 

 

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Patrick Lawrence, Ph.D.
President of Board
Maumee RAC Chair
Associate Professor, University of Toledo

 

Tim Schetter
Vice President / Secretary
Director of Natural Resources, Metroparks of the Toledo Area

 

Colleen Dooley
Treasurer
Attorney, Private Practice

 

Terry Shankland
Board Member
CEO, Shankland's Catering

 

Andrew Curran
Board Member
Assistant Scout Executive, Boy Scouts of America

 

Shawn Reinhart
Board Member
Environmental Manager, Johns Manville

 

Philip Blosser
Board Member
Market Development Manager
Perstorp Polyols

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