Currents November 2019
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Sponsor an Event!Show your support for our areas waterways at one of our events. |
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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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The 23rd Annual Clean Your Streams was another wonderfully successful effort to clean local waters. On September 21st, in the span of just a few hours, 918 volunteers removed 18,455 pounds of garbage from 35 miles of Toledo-area waterways! Many types of trash were removed. In addition to the ubiquitous array of plastics, volunteers removed 124 tires, two mattresses, a Jeep Power Wheel, and many other oddities. Access the official factsheet and photos of the fun here.
After the hard work, volunteers gathered for a celebratory picnic. At the picnic, volunteers were able to learn more about the local environment by visiting booths sponsored by the Toledo-Lucas County Rain Garden Initiative, the Toledo Waterways Initiative, Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory, and Partners for Clean Streams. Volunteers were also able to participate in door prize and raffle prize drawings; items raffled off included passes to the Toledo Zoo, kayak rental vouchers, sporting and theater event tickets, and many gift cards to local businesses and restaurants.
At the conclusion of the big day, Challenge Award winners were announced. First Place Youth challenge awards went to the Toledo ZOOTeens and the Toledo Early College High School. Bowling Green State University’s Environmental Service Club swept up first place finishes in all three of the Collegiate level challenges. Finally, first place for the River Partner Certification went to First Solar, who had 88 employees and family members show up to Clean Your Streams.
Many thanks to all of our coordinators, volunteers, sponsors, and donors. This is definitely a group effort, and thanks to all of you, our streams are cleaner, clearer, and safer!
Did you know that Clean Your Streams Day (CYS) is part of a GLOBAL effort to rid the Earth’s waterways of harmful debris? On September 21st, Partners for Clean Streams (PCS) and our CYS volunteers joined the Ocean Conservancy and over one million like-minded volunteers around the world to help reduce the amount of debris (trash) in Earth’s waterways. The Ocean Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that works to promote ocean conservation and protect marine wildlife from a number of global challenges, including the increasing amount of trash in waters around the world.
In an effort to raise awareness on this environmental issue, the Ocean Conservancy facilitates the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) each year, and has for the past 33 years. The ICC takes place in September, and engages partners and volunteers from countries all over the world in the largest concerted cleanup of oceans, coasts, and freshwater resources in the world. Following the ICC, the Ocean Conservancy reports on the type and amount of debris collected by all of its partners (including PCS) through the publication of an engaging and informative ICC Report. The 2019 ICC Report is available by clicking here. Two of the big takeaway statistics from the 2018 ICC are as follows; more than 1 million volunteers participated worldwide and these volunteers collected approximately 23 million pounds of trash. Our Clean Your Streams volunteers definitely contributed this that huge amount of trash by removing approximately 35 thousand pounds of trash from Toledo-area waterways!
The ICC Report also breaks the data down by type of trash collected. Last year, cigarette butts, food wrappers, and straws/stirrers came in at the top three spots, respectively. The data from CYS22 in 2018 painted a similar picture, with food wrappers and cigarette butts coming in on our top five list, and straws/stirrers coming in at number 15.
The presence of trash in our waterways (marine and fresh) results in large-scale economic losses, wildlife habitat damage, and wildlife population declines. But, public awareness is spreading, and so is an understanding that all trash, regardless of where it is discarded, is contributing to the global debris crisis. We look forward to CYS each year so that we can work together again on ICC Day to address this issue and improve the health of our globl waters!
PCS will be hosting its 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, December 3rd from 5:30-7:30pm at the Toledo Botanical Gardens. We are excited to share our successes from the year with our partners, supporters, and friends. The AGM will include appetizers, program presentations and recaps, Clean Your Streams Challenge Awards presentations, and the announcement of the 2019 Clean Streams Partner Award. We will also hold board elections for the next two-year period. If you are interested in serving on the Board, please contact Kris at the office before November 15th. Please join us to celebrate our accomplishments in 2019 and to set our goals for 2020! Please RSVP online at: https://bit.ly/2qgXBI7 or call our office at (419) 874-0727.
Partners for Clean Streams is excited to announce our participation in #GivingTuesdayNWO 2019! #GivingTuesday is a global movement to give back to charities that help make communities better places to live, work, and play. In our case, donations made during #GivingTuesday will help us to better support our many waterways through educational outreach, year-round water quality programs, program materials, and more.
This year, the event falls on December 3rd and there are several ways to donate;
We will also be eligible for a $5,000 charitable grant through the Greater Toledo Community Foundation. Please, give water a hand on December 3rd and donate to Partners for Clean Streams on #GivingTuesdayNWO.
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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
PO Box 203
Perrysburg, Ohio 43552
phone: 419-874-0727 cell: 419-205-5588
fax: 419-874-0727
e-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
© Partners for Clean Streams, Inc. All rights reserved.
