May-April activities, funds request

We are still asking for donations for our current land acquisition initiative in Richmond Heights.

Click HERE for more details about this property.    
Click    HERE    to access our  Donate  feature.  

MAY MEETING AT S. EUCLID COMMUNITY CENTER

Please join us on Tuesday, May 7 at 6:30 pm for our next Friends of Euclid Creek meeting. This month we will be meeting back at South Euclid Community Center. 

Our program for the evening will be the results of our strategic planning process. A great deal of time and creative work went into the process by the Board and a few other FOEC members. The planning process helped us see where we have been, where we are and where we hope to go. 

After the presentation and discussion, let's have some fun and see how much you know about the watershed with a little Euclid Creek Jeopardy.

APRIL MEETING CONCERNS DEER OVERPOPULATION

Our Wednesday, April 3 meeting is a joint meeting with the Highland Heights Green Task force. Note the departure from our usual time and place to cover this important topic.

• Who is the speaker: Geoffrey Westerfield, ODNR,
  Division of Wildlife
• What is the topic: Deer Overpopulation
• When: Wednesday, April 3, 7:00 PM
• Where: Highland Heights Community Center,
  5827 Highland Road

More about the Highland Heights Green Task force is at the http://www.highlandhtsgreen.com/ site. If you have any questions about the meeting or task force, please contact:

• Judy Dearden - President of the Highland Heights Green Task Force - at hhgreentaskforce@yahoo.com  (or)  
• Jeanette Evans at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net

APRIL TREE PLANTING

Please volunteer for the April 27 tree planting in Richmond Heights.
Streamside Tree Planting in Richmond Heights

Saturday, April 27 9:00am-1:00pm Richmond Heights City Hall

Help Reforest Richmond Heights! ReLeaf partners and volunteers will plant more than a hundred trees, some large, some small, along 770 feet of Claribel Creek, a tributary to the East Branch Euclid Creek in Richmond Heights.

Volunteers are needed for all kinds of work - planting, mulching, donut-distribution and more.

To volunteer, or for more information, please contact Cathi Lehn at 216-241-2414 x307, or email lehnc@crcpo.org.

MAY PLANT PULL AND GARDEN SERVICE DAY

Euclid Creek Invasive Plant Pull Event and FOEC Bioswale Garden Service Day

Saturday, May 11 10:00am—noon Wildwood State Park, Cleveland

Volunteers are needed to help remove invasive garlic mustard.

Contact Claire Posius, cposius@cuyahogaswcd.org or 216-524-6580 x16 for more info.

Join us at 9:00am in main parking lot by Marina to learn about the bioswale and help with maintaining the garden,

BEACHWOOD GREEN DREAM IS APRIL 19 

We are looking for volunteers for Friday, April 19, noon to 7PM. Please let me know at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net if you can help with our FOEC table.

See http://entrovation.com/ for information about how this year the Beachwood Green Dream is now called Entrovation.

EARTH DAY ACTIVITIES IN APRIL 

Please let me know at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net if you would like details on our activities related to Earth Day at Philips Medical and Rockwell Automation.

See http://earthday.org for details about the April 22, 2013, event worldwide.

MARCH STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING

The March steering committee meeting took place at the South Euclid Community Center on March 20. The following are meeting notes. Present were Ginny Aveni, Gary Bloom, Rick Evans, Jeanette Evans, Ken Messenger-Rapport, Barb Holtz, Lou Drassler, Christi Carlson, Carolyn Suguichi, and Bill McFarland.  

Finance committee update 

Ginny updated on the work of the finance committee.  

Structure of FOEC 

Barb presented a plan for discussion of a structure for the organization.

Strategic planning next steps 

Tom Romito has not yet provided additional notes. 

Claire's list of upcoming events

Christi plans to bring the lists with her to the April meeting 

Newsletter

We discussed the timetable of the next newsletter.

Other

We discussed a contribution to the Audobon Society in honor of Tom Romito and Brian Gilbert's plant identification project.  We plan to discuss Frank's ideas on membership and Jeanette's input on the scholarship at upcoming meetings.

APRIL STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING

We met at the South Euclid Library. Barb called the meeting to order around 6:30 PM on April 17. In attendance were Jeanette Evans, Rick Evans, Fran Hogg, Claire Posius, Bill McReynolds, Barb Holtz, Judy Dearden, Christi Carlson, Carolyn Suguichi, Gary Bloom, Steve Albro, Ken Rapport, Frank Skala, and guest Ann Kent.

Announcements

Barb noted that the News Herald included an item about our fund raiser. 

Strategic planning

Barb introduced Ann Kent of the Center for Non Profit Excellence. We discussed the state of the draft of the strategic plan and board structure.  The May meeting should include Barb presenting the group with an update on this plan.  Ann mentioned work with seven watershed groups to include Doan Brook, Euclid Creek, Chagrin River, Rocky River, West Creek, Tinker's Creek, and Big Creek.  

Fundraising

We discussed our current campaign including letters that went out with Christi providing details. 

Events 

Claire requested volunteer help with events coming up.  

THANK YOU FOR VISITING

The photo comes from Daniel Hancock, a winner in our last photo contest. Thank you for visiting FOEC News. We are now over 13,300 views as of April 17, 2013. 

Land Conservation Fund Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Barb Holtz
216-382-3595 foecpres@yahoo.com
FRIENDS OF EUCLID CREEK SEEKS TO PROTECT STREAMSIDE GREENSPACE
South Euclid, OH, March 27, 2013 - The Friends of Euclid Creek (FOEC), a grass-roots, non-profit charitable organization which advocates for the health of its namesake watershed, has established a Land Conservation Fund to aid its efforts to protect 20 acres of woodlands in two communities on Cleveland's East Side. 

In existence since 2003, FOEC's mission is to raise awareness and preserve the natural features of the Euclid Creek watershed, which covers portions of nine eastern suburbs and the northeast corner of the city of Cleveland. Over the past 13 years, its members have undertaken numerous initiatives in support of its mission. Included among these efforts have been rain barrel workshops, stream and native garden cleanups, water quality tests, educational outreach at community events, and watershed education signage where major roadways cross Euclid Creek and its tributaries.

FOEC has also enjoyed previous success in the preservation and restoration of lands within the watershed. In 2008, the group partnered with the Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District and the Mayfield City School District in establishing the 12-acre "Dusty Goldenrod Meadow" in Highland Heights - so named for the endangered wildflower which resides there. Last summer, FOEC members worked with another northeast Ohio conservation group - West Creek Preservation Committee - to clean and plant trees on a creekside property on Marcella Road in Cleveland's North Collinwood neighborhood. 

At present, the Friends' goal is to purchase and protect two wooded parcels located in the cities of Richmond Heights and Highland Heights. The eight-acre Richmond Heights property is located on Redstone Run, a tributary of Euclid Creek, and is situated just south of Cleveland Metroparks Euclid Creek Reservation. By protecting the mature forest on this parcel, FOEC seeks to maintain high-quality habitat for plants and animals, and reduce erosion on the site's steep slopes and further downstream.

The Highland Heights tract consists of 12 acres of woodlands, wetland areas and headwater streams, and sits near both the Dusty Goldenrod Meadow and the Highland Heights Community Park. If secured by FOEC, it would remain in its current state, save for signage and a trail, and would serve as both a natural filter for run-off and an ideal location for nature walks.

In order to achieve these objectives, FOEC is seeking to partner financially with local citizens and businesses who share their concern for their natural surroundings. In the short term, members are attempting to raise $20,000 to supplement grant monies received from the Clean Ohio Fund for Green Space Conservation. This would enable them to complete the purchase of the Richmond Heights parcel. They are also working to raise additional funds to secure the purchase of the 12 wooded acres in Highland Heights.

Those who are interested in this initiative are urged to contact FOEC President Barb Holtz at 216-382-3595 or Watershed Coordinator Claire Posius at 216-524-6580, ext. 16. Further information is also available on the organization's website:http://www.cuyahogaswcd.org/EuclidCreekFiles/FriendsofEuclidCreek_Support-Us.htm. 

In making a tax-deductible contribution to this fund, donors will be helping to ensure that members of our communities will be able to experience nature for themselves - not by driving to a distant park, but merely by walking or biking a short distance from their own doorsteps. They will also be leaving a wonderful gift for future generations to enjoy.

Lake Erie - NY Times Article

Lake Erie was once considered an environmental success story after it was pulled from the brink of death. Now it is sick again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/science/earth/algae-blooms-threaten-lake-erie.html

Current projects

Here are some of the projects supported by FOEC though the Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District (CSWCD). CSWCD provides a grant to support to the work of FOEC. 

• Cleveland WPC Green Infrastructure
• East Branch Dam Removal
• Euclid Creek Tunnel
• Mayfield Hts Green Infrastructure
• South Euclid Nine Mile Wetland
• Wildwood Wetland Restoration / Lacustrine Refuge Project

See the following site for more details about these projects: 
http://www.cuyahogaswcd.org/euclidcreekfiles/FriendsofEuclidCreek_Support-Us.htm

Strategic plan

Thank you to Tom Romito for providing this draft of a strategic plan. Please contact me at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net for the latest draft.  

Strategic Plan 

for the

Friends of Euclid Creek

2013-2016

Introduction

FOEC is a grass-roots non-profit organization that loves the Euclid Creek watershed and has a storied history of successes in protecting it.  However, FOEC is faced with many challenges.  In order to continue creating awareness of the Euclid Creek watershed and protecting land and water there, the board of FOEC decided in late 2012 to undergo a strategic planning process.  This document is the result of that process.

We, the board of FOEC, have a goal of advocating for the health of the watershed.  A number of barriers exist that we must overcome in order to achieve our goal.  We lack organizational structure, procedures, and a defined focus, which limit our visibility.  The watershed contains many communities with differing laws that slow down projects we could do to take care of the watershed.  Many citizens and public officials are unconcerned about keeping the watershed healthy.  We live in a developed urban environment, which contributes to flooding, pollution, and storm water runoff and degrades our quality of life.  We have limited funds, which prohibits us from protecting parcels of land.

We have invested ourselves in the watershed for a variety of reasons.  We aspire to a high quality of life by living here.  We believe we are working for the benefit of future generations who will live here.  We experience spiritual rejuvenation by advocating for health in the watershed.  We value the watershed for what it is.  In fact, we believe we are partners with the watershed itself.  We want other people to become FOEC members, help them to do so, and mentor them once they are.  These are our values, and they support our vision of being the citizen voice for the watershed.

Given all of these factors, we decided that our mission is to raise awareness and preserve the natural features of the Euclid Creek watershed.  We chose a slogan to go with it, and it is “Euclid Creek” – Your Natural Neighbor.”  It means that Euclid Creek is in our backyards; that it should have rights and protection just like any neighbor; that we want all FOEC members, to be good neighbors to it because what happens in our yards doesn’t stay in our yards; our behavior influences our neighbor.

We spent a great deal of time during the strategic planning process analyzing our internal strengths and weaknesses.  We know what they are; some of them became known to us in a member survey we conducted on August 7, 2012.  We also looked at opportunities in the community we can exploit to have chances for success.  Lastly, we examined forces in the community and the world that threaten the environment and FOEC.  Based on this soul-searching and research, we developed three core strategies that will direct our efforts in the coming years.

We rely on the volunteer spirit of FOEC members, present and future, to help us implement these strategies, achieve our vision, and accomplish our mission.

Goal, Vision, and Mission

Goal

To advocate for the health of the Euclid Creek watershed.

Vision

FOEC is the citizen voice for the Euclid Creek watershed.

Mission

To raise awareness and preserve the natural features of the Euclid Creek watershed.

  

Organizational History and Profile

Organizational History

A small group of concerned citizens formed the Friends of Euclid Creek in 2000 to address a need for stewardship of the natural resources of Euclid Creek.  Following are some of the highlights of FOEC activities since its formation:

·                FOEC members have taken part in a number of community events (Greenwood Farm, Beachwood Green Dream, Lyndhurst Home Days, South Euclid Home Days) to educate people about watersheds and watershed issues.

·                In 2006, FOEC evaluated benefits and challenges of rain gardens in Euclid Creek and installed four demonstration gardens with educational signage in watershed communities.  Funding came from the Ohio Lake Erie Commission and Lake Erie Protection Fund.

·                In 2007, FOEC received grant funding to design and install signage raising community awareness throughout the watershed and created brochures about Euclid Creek.  Funding came from the Ohio EPA-Ohio Environmental Education Fund.

·                In 2008, FOEC worked with Cuyahoga Soil and Conservation District and Mayfield City Schools to create a conservation easement for 12 acres of dusty goldenrod meadow in Highland Heights.  Dusty goldenrod is a rare plant.

·                FOEC members have volunteered for numerous rain barrel workshops in partnership with CSWCD.

·                FOEC has sponsored numerous bioswale clean ups at Wildwood State Park with CSWCD.

·                FOEC members have planted wetland plants as part of a restoration project for CSWCD.

·                FOEC developed a $500 college scholarship for high school seniors living in the watershed and studying environmental science.

·                FOEC provides monthly educational meetings and/or field trips for members and friends - all meetings open to the public.

·                FOEC has helped plant trees and clean up Marcella property in Euclid.

·                FOEC members have attended numerous city councils meetings to educate officials about fracking.

Organizational Profile

The Friends of Euclid Creek is comprised of 125 citizens of a multi-community area within the Euclid Creek watershed.  A 16-member board directs FOEC’s activities.

Summary of Core Strategies

1.  Raise awareness about our public profile to increase our visibility in the community. 

We want FOEC to be the sought-after or “go-to” group for advocacy of the Euclid Creek watershed.  In order to achieve that reputation, we need excellent internal and external lines of communication and cooperation with members, other citizens, and public officials in the community.  We believe we can do this by forming working relationships with the Euclid Creek Watershed Council and our city councils, partnering with like-minded organizations to share our mission, and engaging the media to convey our mission and successes to a broader audience.

2.  Strengthen the internal organization (including financial structure in order to sustain FOEC.

A consistent, critical mass of committed board members have been driving FOEC.  As in most non-profit organizations, however, our efforts are fragmented by a myriad of non-prioritized projects and many of our officers are getting tired.  We need to find capable officers, prioritize projects, raise funds for those projects, recruit members who will be active in the organization, and market our brand.  We also need to develop a smooth transition from one administration to the next and memorialize each administration’s accomplishments in an annual report.  Without these strengths, we won’t be able to pursue ambitious projects we have in mind, and in a worst-case scenario, a personnel drain and erosion of funds could cause FOEC to dissolve as an organization.

3.  Support the implementation of the Euclid Creek Watershed Action Plan to develop conservation priorities for FOEC.

A seminal moment occurred during the strategic planning process when the FOEC board stated that it was disconnected from the Euclid Creek Watershed Council.  We weren’t a player in this network, and thus weren’t privy to information contained in the Watershed Action Plan that would help FOEC plan projects toward attaining our goal of advocating for the health of the watershed.  This discussion led to an invitation from Watershed Coordinator Claire Posius, who was on the strategic planning committee, for FOEC board members to attend meetings of the Watershed Council and make our presence known to the council members.  Several FOEC board members attended the Watershed Council on February 14.  Now that we have begun to form a relationship with the Watershed Council, we plan to encourage a partnership to do joint projects.

Funds request, March and April activities

We are now accepting funds to support the purchase of two properties that save endangered greenspace in developed suburbs (Richmond Heights and Highland Heights).

Click HERE for more details about this property.    
Click    HERE    to access our  Donate  feature.  

MARCH MEETING 

Here is a note from President Barb Holtz about our March meeting.

Hello all.

Our next Friends of Euclid Creek meeting in this Tuesday, March 5 at 6:30 pm at the Lyndhurst Community Center. Our meeting time is serving as a public meeting for Cleveland Metroparks regarding the newly acquired Acacia Country Club, now called Acacia Reservation. The focus of the meeting is to educate the public regarding restoration initiatives for the property and to get public input regarding those initiatives. It is not the forum to discuss infrastructure such as the clubhouse, parking, park entrance, etc.

This is a wonderful opportunity to share information about our group (I will get a few minutes to introduce FOEC) and share our concerns and hopes for Euclid Creek watershed health. I hope to see many FOEC members there! We will have a short meeting after for Claire to give us updates plus I will share some reminders about upcoming meetings.

Lyndhurst Community Center is behind the Lyndhurst City Hall (5301 Mayfield Rd.) and can be accessed off Parkview Road, just west of the city hall.

Peace, Barb Holtz

APRIL MEETING

Our Wednesday, April 3 meeting  is a joint meeting with the Highland Heights Green Task force.  Note the departure from our usual time and place to cover this important topic.

Who is the speaker:  Geoffrey Westerfield, ODNR, Division of Wildlife
What is the topic:  Deer Overpopulation
When: Wednesday, April 3, 7:00 PM
Where: Highland Heights Community Center, 5827 Highland Road

More about the Highland Heights Green Task force is at the http://www.highlandhtsgreen.com/ site. If you have any questions about the meeting or task force, please contact:

• Jeanette Evans at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net (or)
• Judy Dearden - President of the Highland Heights Green Task Force - at  hhgreentaskforce@yahoo.com 

APRIL TREE PLANTING

Please volunteer for the April 27 tree planting in Richmond Heights.  

Streamside Tree Planting in Richmond Heights
Saturday, April 27         9:00am-1:00pm              Richmond Heights City Hall

Help Reforest Richmond Heights! ReLeaf partners and volunteers will plant more than a hundred trees, some large, some small, along 770 feet of Claribel Creek, a tributary to the East Branch Euclid Creek in Richmond Heights.

Volunteers are needed for all kinds of work - planting, mulching, donut-distribution and more.
To volunteer, or for more information, please contact Cathi Lehn at 216-241-2414 x307, or email lehnc@crcpo.org. 

THANK YOU FOR VISITING

The photo comes from Daniel Hancock, a winner in our last photo contest. Thank you for visiting FOEC News. We are now over 12,000 views.


IN THE MEDIA

A thank you goes out to Cleveland.com for the following article describing our most recent land acquisition initiative and effort to preserve green space in Richmond Heights and Highland Heights -

http://www.cleveland.com/euclid/index.ssf/2013/02/friends_of_euclid_creek_seeks.html