water

Spring Stewardship Stars of Euclid Creek

Spring encompassed a fantastic array of stewardship activities in the watershed. Between Earth Day activities with Girl Scouts, Arbor Day tree plantings, and corporate Earth Day celebrations it was super busy and super fun! Events were held in Euclid Creek and in our adjacent Nine Mile watershed. Here are some of the fun activities that happened and the awesome volunteers, scouts and organizations that participated:

Rockwell Automation in Mayfield Heights Employee Earth Fest – Rick Evans and Joe Newman helped staff the FOEC table at event and talked to nearly 75 employees about water resource issues.

Arbor Day Tree Planting with Sunview Elementary with City of Lyndhurst at Brainard Park - 43 parents and students participated in the planting. The Watershed coordinator presented on the benefits of the nearby rain garden, and Service Director Glady talked about the benefits of trees in planting this new oak tree. Students helped the service department staff plant the tree.

Arbor Day was also celebrated by the Cleveland Metroparks – they had employees and volunteers plant hundreds of trees at Acacia Reservation and Wildwood Park! Richmond Heights also planted an Arbor Day tree with students from the Richmond Heights City Schools at the Community Park.

Greenwood Farm Garlic Mustard Pull in Richmond Heights with Girl Scout Troop 70633. 14 Brownies, parents and Friends of Euclid Creek volunteers Victor Bernot and Virginia Aveni, Greenwood Farm Association volunteers Dick Schmidt and Pam O’Donnell, and Richmond Heights Mayor Roche participated in removing this invasive garlic mustard from the forest understory.

Oakwood Green Park Cleanup in South Euclid with Girl Scout Troops 70183, 70401 and 70467. 16 Brownies and one Senior, parents, Sajovie Brothers Landscaping representatives, and FOEC volunteer Barb Domski participated in the cleanup. The most interesting thing we found at the site next to Oakwood Commons Shopping Center, was a shopping cart and a license plate. We also found it amazing that a receipt from one of the stores made it to a far corner of the park.

Forest Hill Park Cleanup in East Cleveland with Girl Scouts Troop 70686 and Shaw High School Honors Society students. 18 girl scouts, students and parents participated in the cleanup and we collected 25 bags of garbage on a wooded hillside next to Forest Hill Park Blvd. It was a great first time partnership with the East Cleveland Park Association, and we can’t thank Gordon Hay, President of the park association for all of his help making the event into a larger neighborhood park cleanup and for all of his help hauling the trash to dumpsters in the park.

Bishop Preserve and Dusty Goldenrod Preserve Cleanups in Highland Heights with Girl Scout Troops 70075, 70130 and 70887. 24 scouts, their parents and FOEC volunteers Ken Messinger-Rapport and Brian Gilbert led the cleanup and collected 15 bags of garbage from the wooded conservation areas.

Shaker Median Native Seed planting in Beachwood with Girl Scout Troop 70307. 14 girl scouts helped City of Beachwood’s Chris Vild and FOEC volunteer Barb Holtz plant native seed in the park to encourage plant diversity for pollinators and plants with deep roots for stormwater management.

Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital Employee Earth Fest – FOEC Table at event. FOEC volunteers Mary K. Evans and Carolyn Sugiuchi and the Watershed Coordinator talked to nearly 360 employees about the need to reduce the use of chemicals on our lawns to help improve water quality in our local creeks and streams and ultimately in Lake Erie. It was a fun event and great sharing volunteer help with Highland Heights Green Task Force.

Cleveland State University Earth Fest – Annie Roberto staffed FOEC table and talked with nearly 50 students at the event about watershed issues and how to get involved.

Greenwood Farm Garlic Mustard Pull in Richmond Heights with 8th Grade Hawken Students. 9 dedicated students pulled wheelbarrows full of garlic mustard in a steady rain as a service activity to the watershed. We cannot thank Peter Thomas, Science Teacher at Hawken, for his continued support of the Euclid Creek Watershed Program and for annually getting his students involved in watershed stewardship, and to Fred Cash of Greenwood Farm Association for his help during the activity.

While I like to think that every day is Earth Day, spring surrounding Earth Day is a fun and rewarding time for raising awareness about our local stormwater and water quality challenges. It’s all about empowering the community to understand that by doing simple things like planting a tree or cleaning up trash does help our watershed, our health, and all of the plants and animals that live in Euclid Creek.

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