Currents May 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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To celebrate Earth Day and Earth month, we unveiled our new website and interactive 2013 Annual Report! Explore new features of the website and tell us what you like best. The NEW WEBSITE, designed by Strategically Digital, is more engaging and easier to navigate. Can you find any typos or links that go nowhere? Let us know (we are only human after all)! While you are at it, take a look at our 2013 Annual Report! Are you in any of the pictures in the photo albums or videos from last years' events? What memories does it bring back? After taking a look at our new website and 2013 Annual Report, let us know what you think. We would love to hear any comments, suggestions or delights. With a new website, new Annual Report and new spring life, why not join us and be part of the new change by becoming a member of PCS or volunteering? 

Every year, hundreds of Partners for Clean Streams volunteers—people like you!—take to the waters and remove the garbage that doesn’t belong there. In 2013 alone, volunteers removed over 16,000 pounds of trash on Clean Your Streams Day. Believe it or not, we are starting to plan for this year’s 18th Annual Clean Your Streams on September 20th 2014. (So save the Date!) But we need your help for this year and years to come.  Partners for Clean Streams is dedicated to the waterways of the greater Toledo area, but we depend on your support.  We want to know – Can your group, business, or family bring the most Change for Change? We challenge each group that will join us for this year’s Clean Your Streams event to pool dimes, nickels, quarters and pennies. Search under sofa cushions! Raid piggy banks! Empty car cupholders! Set out a jar in the office! Start collecting change now!

 

After you have collected your Change, bring it with you to the Clean Your Streams Appreciation Picnic AFTER the cleanup. Each group’s collective Change for Change will be weighed and weight totals will be marked on a board at the Picnic. The group with the heaviest Change wins the Challenge and will receive a Mystery Award! To get the Change collection started, tape our half sheet flyer to a jar and set it in your office, break room or counter or pass it around at scout or church meetings. Get your Change for Change Flyer! Your loose change can add up to make a lot of Change for our local rivers!

Kyle in stream by culvert at Camp MiakondaTo all my colleagues, partners, and friends, I want to personally thank you for helping to guide and teach me over the last few years. Without your help and support, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I have accepted an offer for a new job, making April 18, 2014 my last day as the Project Coordinator at Partners for Clean Streams. Over the coming months, I will be working part-time however, to wrap up as much as possible with the current projects PCS is working on, leaving Kris and the staff with a strong foothold to finish the work at hand. I am incredibly proud of the accomplishments PCS has attained throughout my employment. We've helped put nearly 30 people in seasonal/long term jobs caring for the environment, made strides towards successfully launching an all-inclusive "one-stop-shop" online tool for Beneficial Use Impairments and projects going on in the Area of Concern, and conducted the biggest restoration effort to date for PCS, the Camp Miakonda project. PCS also saw record breaking numbers for volunteers, especially at Clean Your Streams Day, and that was a celebration we all could share.

 

I spoke at the National Conference on Ecological Restoration, presented to hundreds of Boy Scout leaders, and lectured at a Stream Restoration Workshop alongside many of my colleagues. Between these, I lost track of the number of people I've talked to about the environment, project impacts on local ecology and homeowners, and why people like us are doing this kind of work. I have the utmost respect for everyone in this field. Whether you're sweating out in the field or staying late in the office to finish a proposal, you're all making a huge difference in the world, and I thank you for that. I hope to continue staying involved with PCS on a volunteering basis, and help further their mission of clean, clear, and safe water for years to come. Once again, thank you, everyone.

Oak Tree at Oak Openings, location of Maumee Corps workSpring is here, which means the Maumee Corps project is officially underway again. Our project partners, The Nature Conservancy and Metroparks of the Toledo Area, have already been incredibly busy and pushed our accomplishments even further. The project has impacted more than 1,500 acres of land by applying prescribed burning techniques, as well as herbicide spraying, mowing, canopy reduction activities, and more. Much of the work being done will greatly benefit the federally endangered Karner Blue Butterfly, by promoting grass and herbaceous plant growth, specifically wild lupine, a highly sought after species of plant for the butterfly. Recently crews performed scheduled, prescribed burns in the prairies of Oak Openings followed by the planting of native seeds to reestablish healthy ecosystems in the park. In total, 29 total people have been hired through this grant, clocking in nearly 70,000 hours of work. We're only beginning the heavy season of work for 2014, and we've smashed through our goals and expectations. Look for more information in the coming months!

Storm Drain Marking Girl Scouts in OregonThank you to the 73 volunteers that took to the streets during April for Storm Drain Marking. You marked 383 storm drains and dropped off educational material to 1072 homes. You successfully reminded citizens that storm drains lead straight to the nearest ditch, creek, or waterway without being filtered. These dedicated volunteers from University of Toledo, Scout groups and other youth groups, worked in neighborhoods in Northwood, Ottawa Hills, Sylvania, Washington Township, Rossford, Oregon, Waterville and Holland as part of Global Youth Service Day. To help us all remember, a good rule of thumb about what should go down a storm drain is "If you wouldn't drink it, don't pour it!". If your group is interested in participating in Storm Drain Marking throughout the summer, please contact us to get scheduled. Thank you again to our dedicated volunteers.

Currents: May 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.

 

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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