A Cincinnati native, Maddie Harris has spent the last several years here in NW Ohio falling in love with the Glass City. She has a BA from the University of Cincinnati in Communications. Her interests have taken her into the natural sciences field, working as an environmental educator and achieving the title of Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist (OCVN) through the OSU Lucas County Extension office. She has a serious passion for connecting people to this great, big, beautiful world we all share. Maddie lives in South Toledo with her husband and son who both share in her love for the outdoors. She enjoys riding her bike, cooking with produce from her garden, and exploring the surrounding parks. Insects, reptiles and amphibians hold a special place in her heart alongside her dog, Drago. She also serves as an At-Large Trustee for North Coast Greyhound Connection helping to find retired racing greyhounds loving homes (like hers!).

She believes that “it takes a village” and is excited to be a part of this one. Below, Maddie shares some insights into her interests and what folks can look forward to:

1. What was the driving force behind you wanting to work for PCS?
   After working as an environmental educator and then doing in situ conservation work, I was looking for a job where I could continue to make a direct impact in our community in a year round capacity. Although I have a heart for animals, people are my passion and I wanted more of that.
   
   
2. What is your favorite program/which program are you most passionate about?
   I’ve really enjoyed our Clean Your Streams 365 programs! It’s amazing to see people come together to make change in their communities. ANYONE can pick up debris and make a difference. Seeing such diverse groups of people making a choice collectively to clean our waterways is powerful and unifying.
   
   
3. What kind of produce do you grow in your garden at home?
   We grow a fairly standard array of vegetables, but I’m excited to be adding more herbs to the garden this year. This is also my first year growing strawberries which I know my son will especially enjoy.
   
   
4. Being a Cincinnati native, are you a Reds & Bengals fan?
   *sigh* Yes, yes I am! Any Cincinnati fan will understand why I started this sentence with a sigh. It’s tough being a Queen City sports fan but we’re loyal and true to the end. This is our year!
   
   
5. What sort of hobbies do you have outside of work?
   I’m a big ol’ nerd. My husband and I like to play board games, video games and have a regular Dungeons & Dragons campaign we also play in. I enjoy crafting as well! I have a few crochet/knit projects that I pick up and put down, but lately I’ve been developing my sewing skills with small projects I make for my family and friends.
   
   
6. What is the strangest thing you’ve found during a clean-up so far, or what do you hope to find?
   Hmmmm, I haven’t found anything super strange on a clean-up (yet!), but one of the coolest things was finding a red-backed salamander under an old wired telephone receiver. He clearly had important phone calls to make but I relocated him to a spot with a few more organic amenities and asked him kindly to quit his day job because he’s a salamander, not a salesman.
   
   
7. What should people look forward to when engaging in a program or clean-up with you? (i.e. Do you have anything special planned?)
   I hope people look forward to learning what they can do! I’m a big proponent of ending programs by answering the question, “Well, what can we do?” There are obvious answers to that question when it comes to debris removal and then more, in-depth intricacies to that as well. I want people to leave with a little more hope than they came with, feeling empowered to continue to make positive change. Stay tuned for some special cleanup events in the near future.

We are so excited to have Maddie on the PCS team. She hopes to see you at a clean-up or program soon!

Spring is in full swing in our area, so you probably are getting outside and into some lawn or garden care by now. We want to ensure that your grass is looking green, while also not compromising the health and quality of our water ways!

Excessive use of fertilizers, especially on already healthy lawns, leads to nutrient runoff (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) into local waterways. This runoff can cause eutrophication, an overgrowth of algae that depletes oxygen in the water, harming aquatic life and potentially creating ecological “dead zones.” Over application of fertilizers can lead to Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) that we see in our area and the western basin of Lake Erie during the summer. To prevent this:

• Use fertilizer only when needed, especially in early spring after watering (not before rain).
  
  
• Choose the right grass seed, like turf-type Tall Fescues and Perennial Rye for Northwest Ohio, which are drought-resistant and low-maintenance.
  
  
• Minimize lawn size and use native plants to reduce the need for fertilizer.
  
  
• Leave grass clippings and mulched leaves on the lawn. They naturally return nutrients to the soil and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.
  
  
• Test your soil to understand what nutrients it actually needs, your local conservation district or OSU Extension Office can help.

Smart lawn care starts with good choices and can help protect local water quality.

A few years back, we worked with a seed company to produce these seed mix fact sheets specific to different soil types for our area, check them out!

• Agricultural Areas
• Poorly-drained soils
• Well-drained soils

Visit the Lake Erie Starts Here (lakeeriestartsherenwo.org) website for more information on how to be fertilizer wise, and for additional resources!