The Clean Water Campaign has organized a number of community and river cleanups so far this year. It is part of our effort to reduce pollution in and around waterways. Thanks to our hardworking volunteers and dedicated partners we have been very successful.
Our groups in Cincinnati, Columbus and Northeast Ohio have helped to organize twelve watershed action events in Ohio since the beginning of the year. In 2017 Sierra Club has worked with a multitude of local partners to mobilize and equip volunteers. Together we logged 2,607 volunteer hours, including 264 youth volunteer hours. This effort resulted in the removal of approximately 21,230 lbs of trash and 3,094 lbs of recyclables.
In Cincinnati, Sierra Club has helped to organize four cleanups this year. All of the work was done at Imago, a non-profit nature preserve. We partnered with Imago, St. Xavier, University of Cincinnati, Community Earth Alliance and ECO to help mobilize and outfit our volunteers. Together they logged 225 volunteer hours, including 90 hours logged by youth participants. They collected a total of 70 lbs of trash, including tires, electronics, auto parts and a lawn mower, and 34 lbs of recyclables. In total, five acres of the preserve were restored.
Columbus was extremely busy, helping to organize six events! These included cleanups, beautification projects and an invasive species removal. We cleaned up Dennison Place, Holton Park, the neighborhood around Hubbard Mastery School and the Scotio Greenway Trail near Greenlawn. These cleanups collectively removed 1,060 lbs of trash and recycled 10 lbs of litter. We pulled shopping carts, tires and auto parts out of rivers and streams; we even recovered a microwave! Beautification events were also held at Dennison Place and Hubbard Mastery School where we planted a pollinator garden and created an outdoor classroom. At Glenview Park an entire truck was filled with chipped invasive honeysuckle that was removed. Additionally, we handed out 300 trees to residents to support the City of Columbus Brand Out initiative to increase tree canopy cover.
In Northeast Ohio Sierra Club partnered with LoCo Yaks on the 5th Annual Black River Cleanup where an astounding 1,500 volunteer hours were logged, and an estimated 20,000 lbs of trash and 3,000 lbs of recyclables were collected. We also partnered with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy at Adam and Hailey’s Run, resulting in 90 volunteer hours and 100 lbs of trash and 50 lbs of recyclables collected.
Sierra Club was able to make such a big impact thanks to all the dedicated volunteers and great partners. In total volunteers dedicated an impressive 792 hours, including 114 youth volunteer hours. We had sixteen partners, ranging from private businesses to student groups to local non-profits.
The Clean Water Campaign loves to organize events that directly impact the health of watersheds around the state, and we would love to have your help! So many people litter and dump waste without a second thought. We can use all the help we can get to combat pollution, and together we can truly make a difference in our communities. The Sierra Club has even more cleanup and restoration events slated for the rest of the year, so check our calendar periodically and get involved. If we work together we can clean up our parks, rivers and public lands - returning them to their natural beauty!
Author: Aaron Acus-Souders