August 2010 update

Welcome to the August 2010 update

Please let me know at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net if you have anything to post. This update includes information about:

• September meeting details
• FOEC participates in local community events
• In the spotlight: Steve Albro
  
• 10 ways to help our creek now
  

For additional fliers about our upcoming photo contest, please call Larry McFadden at at 216-531-7144.

Save Tuesday, Sept. 7, 6:30-8:30

We plan no August meeting. Please check back for details of the September meeting. We normally meet the first Tuesday of each month.

For questions contact our new incoming president Frank Skala 440 473 3484 or skala@ameritech.net. Thank you to outgoing president Fran Hogg and outgoing officers and board for a wonderful term. Congratulations to the new officers and board.

The image of the purple coneflower - a good native choice for Ohio landscapes - comes from The Wild Ones.

Water quality monitoring sites

If you are interested in the important work of monitoring at one of these sites, please let Claire Posius or jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net know. Please let Jeanette know if you would like to see the related video DVD on local water quality monitoring. The award-winning video was produced by Cuyahoga Community College.

• Cleveland - Wildwood State Park


• Euclid - Metroparks Highland Picnic Area


• Lyndhurst - Schaefer Park


• Richmond Heights - Chardon-Richmond Road


• South Euclid - S. Euclid/Lyndhurst Library

Monitor water for potential problems, for further study, or for restoration efforts - to include waters that would otherwise go unmonitored. You will get training to use monitoring kits, sediment sticks, and meters to complete data sheets on water conditions.

Euclid Creek is experiencing stress from impacts imposed upon it over the past 100 years. These impacts include urban land development and modification of its streams and wetlands. Understanding more about the sources of these stresses - by analyzing the results of water quality monitoring - can better educate us in applying best practices on the ground to retain the watershed's ecosystem.
The image of the native Christmas fern comes from http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/ which states that ferns have been part of Ohio landscapes for millions of years and are a welcome plant year-around.

FOEC participates in local community events

One event where FOEC participated was when Arts Collinwood partnered with the Euclid Beach Adopt-A-Beach Team to bring a day of summer festivities and family fun at Euclid Beach on Saturday, July 17. Thank you to FOEC members who were at the FOEC booth. Participants for the event included:

• Friends of Euclid Creek


• Councilman Michael D. Polensek


• Northeast Shores Development Corporation


• Clevelanders In Motion - A program of the YMCA


• Arts Collinwood


• Euclid Beach Adopt-A-Beach team
  

In the spotlight: Steve Albro

Steve Albro has been a member of FOEC since 2007 and on the FOEC board since 2009. Living in South Euclid, Steve is also a member of the GCRTA Citizens Advisory Board (1999-Present), GCRTA ADA Committee (1994-Present, Chair 1996-2010), Rail Users Network (2001-Present, Board 2003-Present), and South Euclid Shade Tree Commission 2006-2009.

Concerning his interest in Euclid Creek, as Steve puts it, "I have lived in the Euclid Creek Watershed for 36 years, with the last 22 years the creek bordering my residence. Since childhood I have an interest in nature particularly birding, trees, and the watershed. My father-in law spent his career as a soil conservationist for the Department of Agriculture in Kansas. My daughter-in law, Kristen Albro, was the Sewer District Coordinator for Friends of Euclid Creek. I am recently retired and want to be involved in conservation projects with FOEC."

Congratulations to Steve on the Plain Dealer article about Steve's wonderful work at the Cleveland Sight Center (http://topics.cleveland.com/tag/steve%20albro/index.html).

10 ways to Help our creek today (from CWSD materials):

1. Recycle used motor oil.



2. Check your vehicles regularly for leaks. Clean up spilled fluids with kitty litter or sand and dispose of properly.



3. Use pesticides & fertilizers sparingly. Use natural fertilizers such as compost for gardens.



4. Select native plants which generally require less water, fertilizer & pesticides.



5. Vegetate bare spots in your yard to prevent soil erosion.



6. Use a commercial car wash or wash your car on your lawn.



7. Dispose of pet waste (an unwanted source of bacteria and nutrients in our streams) by throwing in garbage or burying.



8. Drain your swimming pool only when a test kit does not detect chlorine levels, ideally in a sanitary sewer.



9. Maintain your septic system by having it inspected at least every 3 years and pumped as necessary.
   
   
10. Get involved by participating in stream cleanups and invasive plants pulls and join your local watershed group like Friends of Euclid Creek.