The month of April is a busy time for the Clean Water Campaign here in Ohio. April, dubbed “Earth Month,” includes a myriad of events ranging from waterway cleanups to rain barrel workshops, and more! For the past several years the partnership between Aveda Network for Good and Sierra Club has been the focus of Earth Month. The partnership has allowed for the continued work to educate, engage, and empower people to restore, improve, and protect Ohio’s waterways.
One of the most creative aspects of Aveda Earth Month is the rain barrel art that is created for rain barrel art raffles. Salons wishing to participate receive a sanded and primed 55 gallon plastic, food-grade barrel to turn into a work of art. These barrels are then raffled off to raise support for Sierra Club’s Clean Water Campaign, and awareness for clean water. Below are two pictures of barrels painted by salons this year!
However, this is not the only way the Clean Water Campaign promotes the use of rain barrels as green infrastructure. Every year rain barrel workshops are offered across the state to give individuals the knowledge and resources to implement green infrastructure in their own backyards. This year two workshops were offered in Cleveland, and seven were offered in the Cincinnati and Dayton area. Additionally, this year Sierra Club partnered to put on a permaculture workshop series, which included topics such as the rain gardens and bioswales session lead by Cincinnati Clean Water Fellow, Jacob Gardner!
The Clean Water Campaign has organized a number of community and river cleanups so far this year in an effort to reduce pollution in and around waterways. Thanks to our hardworking volunteers and dedicated partners we have helped to organize twelve watershed action events in Ohio since the beginning of the year. In 2018 Sierra Club has worked with a multitude of local partners to mobilize and equip volunteers. This effort resulted in the removal of approximately 24,121 lbs of trash and 4,000 lbs of recyclables.
Columbus was extremely busy, helping to organize eight events! These included cleanups, beautification projects and invasive species removal. These cleanups collectively removed 4,121 pounds of trash and recycled 1,000 pounds of litter. Two events focused on an area that had been used as an illegal neighborhood dumping site. We recovered everything from electronics to a lawn mower, and planted trees and other native plants! Beautification events were also held at Indian Springs Elementary and Hubbard Mastery School where we planted pollinator gardens, as well as maintained existing outdoor classroom areas.
In Northeast Ohio Sierra Club partnered with LoCo Yaks on the 7th Annual Black River Cleanup where an astounding 1,000 volunteer hours were logged during the two day event, and an estimated 20,000 lbs of trash and 3,000 lbs of recyclables were 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 1,860 hours, with 200 of those volunteer hours being from youth participants! We had fourteen 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!