September steering committee meeting

On September 21 the following were in attendance at the South Euclid Library: Frank, Barb Holtz, Gary, Rick, Jeanette, Carolyn, Larry, Ken, Steve. Frank called the meeting to order around 7:05PM.

Awards

We discussed who will get the year-end awards.

Greenwood Farms

Volunteers for the event are Barb Pophol, Mary Kay Evans, Steve Albro, Joan Albro, Rick Evans, Frank Skala, Ron Puera, and Jeanette Evans. Barb Holtz will prepare a script. Ron Puera will set up the tent. Evans will pick up the materials at the end of the event.

Photo awards

Larry will organize a follow up meeting. Barb Holtz will handle refreshments for the meeting. The location is the South Euclid Community Community Center. Committee members include Meiring, Ginny, and Larry.

Treasurer's report

Ken provided the report.

Newsletter

Barb agreed to prepare a newsletter near the beginning of next year. It could be distributed as an insert along with Claire's newsletter.

Lyndhurst Home Days

We discussed follow up of the people who signed up to get more information. Barb Holtz suggested having a rain barrel workshop on the tennis court next year.

New members

We discussed follow up from other events including the photo contest meeting in November.

Welcome letters

Gary prepared a welcome letter for new members.

Stickers

Barb Holtz has stickers that will go with the welcome letter for new members.

Sept. 22 canoe ride

Frank to notify attendees of any cancellations.

Airport rain garden and youth corps

September 29 at 3:00-5:00PM will be our first event working with the youth corps. Meiring designed the rain garden. Larry will email about the location at the Cuyahoga County Airport. At least 10 students will be there from the Key Club at Mayfield High School. Nick DeFranco is the Key Club contact. Claire will be there.

Mayfair Swim Club

October 4 at 6:00PM we will have our regular meeting at the Mayfair Swim Club on Highland Road on the north side of the street, three doors east of Cary Jay. Kevin Delaney is the airport manager and is to meet us there. Lee Gates is a Richmond Heights historian who will lead the discussion. Claire is to bring the Euclid Creek Event signage.

Nov. meeting

Photo contest winners will be recognized at this meeting at the South Euclid Community Center. Ginny is to speak as is Frank. Barb Holtz will handle refreshments. Larry will email the photo contest entrants of the location.

Dec. holiday party

Barb Pophal is organizing this event again and reserved the Mayfield Village Community Center. We discussed invitations, awards, musicians, food, prizes, fund raising.

SWCD grant

Claire received the award for $35,000.

Speakers' bureau

Barb Holtz got material from Clair and is working on the presentation. Potential speakers should get together to review the presentation. Frank, Rick, Larry, and Ken are interested in attending.

Thank you to Frank Skala for providing this picture from the Greenwood Farm ravine walk.

Aug. steering committee notes

On Wednesday, August 17 the steering committee met at the South Euclid Library.

In attendance were Larry, Gary, Frank, Rick, Jeanette, Barb, and Lou. Frank called the meeting to order around 7:05PM.

Youth corps

Larry explained about working with Jerry Turk of the Mayfield High School Key Club and Claire on a rain garden project. Meiring and Larry looked at sites for the rain garden.

Photo contest

Seventy entries are available for judging. Larry discussed who will judge.

North Chagrin Nature Center Interpretive Plan

Barb explained the plan for the Euclid Creek Reservation

Greenspace plans

Barb discussed how to encourage communities to have conservation development ordinances and greenspace plans

Insurance

Ken looked at insurance costs. We agreed to keep the insurance we now have.

Future speakers

We discussed having Bill Zawicki at a future meeting.

Upcoming plans

• Aug. 24 Sierra Club Cruise on Goodtime
• Sept. 6 - general meeting with Kristy Meyers
• Sept. 9 to 11 - Lyndhurst Home Days
• Sep. 22 - Canoe Ride
• Oct. 4 - 6PM, Mayfair Swim Club outing instead of regular meeting
• Nov. 1 - General meeting with photo contest winners, no speaker
• Dec. 6 - Holiday party
• Jan. 3 - Speaker L. Clark on brownfields
• Feb. 7 - General meeting where members share with members

Misc.

• Barb is making progress on the speaker's bureau slide show
• Barb could lead a dusty goldenrod walk in the spring

July update

Welcome
Thank you for a great July picnic
Our July meeting included a picnic near the dam removal site in the Metroparks location near the Highland Road entrance.

The image of the purple coneflower - a good native choice for Ohio landscapes - comes from The Wild Ones. Coneflowers attract butterflies and birds. The image of the tree comes from our photo contest.

August meeting
Come to our Tuesday, August 2 meeting to hear guest speaker Lou Rifici talk about water quality monitoring in the Euclid Creek.
Our meetings normally start at 6:30PM at the South Euclid Community Center, 1370 Victory Drive (north off Mayfield, next to Giant Eagle). Meetings are free and open to the public.

FOEC to be at Lyndhurst Home Days

Mark your calendars for Sept. 9-11. Let me know at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net if you can help at our table.

Upper Cuyahoga River Tour - Sat., June 18

Thank you to Ginny Aveni and everyone else for planning this event.

Euclid Beach Blast!
FOEC plans to sponsor a table at this wonderful July 16 event.

FOEC officers and directors
Congratulations go to Ken and Carolyn as they were voted in at our July meeting to continue in their positions in September. Here is a list of current officers.


Current Officers
President: Frank Skala
1st Vice President: Larry McFadden
2nd Vice President: Gary Bloom
Secretary: Jeanette Evans
Treasurer: Ken Messinger-Rapport

Please visit regularly
See these wonderful sites for interesting information about environmental issues related to the Euclid Creek watershed.

Claire Posius' Soil and Water Conservation District Enews-Letter athttp://www.cuyahogaswcd.org/EuclidCreekFiles/enewsletter.htm - Thank you Claire! Please send comments and contibutions to Claire at http://us.mc1803.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=cposius@cuyahogaswcd.org

FOEC website at http://friendsofeuclidcreek.nhlink.net/index.htm - Thank you Miering! Please send comments and contributions to Miering at http://us.mc1803.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=friendsofeuclidcreek@gmail.com

Highland Heights Green Task force meeting minutes http://www.highlandhtsgreen.com/

Thank you to Lou Rifici

Lou Rifici makes a huge contribution to our efforts at monitoring quality of the the Euclid Creek. He scheduled pickup of the equipment and performs calibration and setup for the volunteers who complete stream monitoring at the various designated locations along the Euclid Creek.

If you would like more information about how to become a volunteer in this important program, please contact jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net.

Lou has also agreed to speak to our group about stream monitoring. Here is some information about Lou's impressive background.

Louis M. Rifici is a biologist, environmental scientist, and assistant professor of Environmental, Health and Safety Technology and Biology at Cuyahoga Community College in Northeastern Ohio. Mr. Rifici worked as an environmental scientist (1989 - 1999) prior to joining the faculty of Cuyahoga Community College. He focused on freshwater ecology as an undergraduate and particularly enjoyed field work in rivers and streams.

He entered the working world as a research technician and worked for two Cleveland chemical companies, before leaving for graduate studies in ecotoxicology. As a graduate student he learned to bioassay industrial effluents and evaluate their toxicity and ecological effects.

He worked with fellow graduate students and professors to gain hands-on experience with a variety of field evaluation techniques at wastewater sources like coal-fired power plants and paper mills. His graduate thesis describes his study of fathead minnow larvae, a commonly-used bioassay organism. A portion of his thesis was published in the international journal, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (Volume 15, Issue 8 (August 1996)).

After graduation, Mr. Rifici was employed as an ecotoxicologist with environmental consulting firms in Virginia, Florida, and Ohio and a chemical manufacturer in Pennsylvania. His duties varied and included performing laboratory bioassay or toxicity testing of wastewaters, commercial products, and pesticides.

He is currently involved in local protection efforts in the Euclid Creek (Ohio) and Mill Creek watersheds.

July steering committee

July steering committee meeting notes

On July 20, Frank Skala called the meeting to order around 7PM at the South Euclid Library.

In attendance were Frank, Lou, Jeanette, Rick, Larry, Barb Holtz, Ken, Gary, Ginny, Claire Posius, and Carolyn.

Director position voting
By unanimous vote we approved Barb Holtz to fill the vacant position.

August meeting

Lou Rifici will talk about Euclid Creek volunteer water monitoring.

Operating support grant

Claire discussed the draft

Signage

We discussed the need for more Euclid Creek signs in the watershed

Tee shirts

Claire asked if we want Euclid Creek tee shirts.

Insurance

Jeanette to look at quotes with no deductible.

Youth corps

Mr. Turk at Mayfield High School is in charge of Key Club and interested in working with us. Larry and Ginny plan to follow up.

Euclid Historical Society Rain Barrel Workshop

Larry gave Claire a list of attendees.

FOEC stickers

Barb showed samples. We voted unanimously to spend $54.95 on an order.

Speaker's bureau

Claire will provide Barb with slides. Barb will customize for a FOEC presentation.

Derek Shaefer of West Creek Land Trust

The steering committee is to meet with Derek one half hour before our regular August meeting.

Photography tips

Thank you to Meiring Borcherds for these tips

Three Tips On Telephoto Photography One of the most exciting aspects of photography is working with Telephoto and Super Telephoto lenses. While out of the price range for most to buy, this lens family is easily accessible through lens rental services online or through local camera stores. Telephoto and super telephoto lenses enable photographers to explore a variety of subjects in new ways. Such lenses are often used in wildlife photography, but they can be used for a variety of subjects. Here are 3 tips and ideas for great telephoto photography: 1. Use A Tripod For Sharp Photos

By and large the vast majority of subjects photographed with telephoto and super telephoto lenses need to be tack sharp. Due to the narrow field of view and magnification of telephoto lenses ever so slight movements has an impact on image sharpness. The first thing you can do to ensure that you’ll capture sharper images is to use a tripod and a tripod head that can support the weight of your equipment. While this is not the only step that you can take to ensure sharper images it is an essential first step. 2. Tightly Frame Your Subject

The most obvious use of a telephoto lens is to magnify a subject so as to close the distance between you and what you’re photographing. This is of extremely value if you’re photographing insects, mammals and/or birds. But you can also use your telephoto lens to give you a creative edge. This can be done by getting extremely close to your subject in some instances. This is particularly useful in highlighting details that would otherwise be lost with shorter focal length lenses. 3. Think Macro Photography

If you’re not into getting close with the bugs and the fungi then an alternate way to shoot macro photography is to use a telephoto lens. Extension tubes in combination with super telephoto lenses shorten the closest focusing distance of a lens. Working with a larger lens will not give you every vantage point that a smaller lens can provide, but it will enable you to obtain other unique perspectives all while saving you from getting your hands dirty.

Bonus Tip:

If your camera has a Mirror Lock-up function this in addition to the use of a shutter release will remove much of the mechanical vibration your camera itself can create. The mirror in the camera box of your DSLR allows you to see from the viewfinder out your lens. When you trigger the shutter the mirror will flip up out of the way so that light coming through your lens hits the sensor or film in your camera body. Mirror Lock-up will prompt you to trigger the shutter twice, first to move the mirror into a ready position and second to open the shutter. After the first trigger of the shutter you should wait 2-5 seconds for the internal mechanics of your camera and resulting vibration of your camera to settle to the point of being still before you trigger the shutter a second and final time.

Now get out into the Euclid Creek Watershed and get creative. Remember to enter our 2011 Photo Contest at http://friendsofeuclidcreek.nhlink.net/photocontest.htm to win some great prizes and build on your photography skills.

June 2011 update, 2010-11 recap

Welcome
If you have any input for these updates, please let me know at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net. The image with the frogs is from our current photography contest. For more images, see http://picasaweb.google.com/

FriendsofEuclidCreek/ 2011PhotoContestEntries#

Our regular meetings normally start at 6:30PM at the South Euclid Community Center, 1370 Victory Drive (north off Mayfield, next to Giant Eagle). Meetings are free and open to the public.

Thank you to environmental attorney and FOEC member Ken Messinger-Rapport for leading the discussion at our June meeting that included a viewing of Gasland, a 2010 American documentary film that focuses on communities in the United States impacted by natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

Upper Cuyahoga River Tour - Sat., June 18
Meet us at 8:30 AM at the Mayfield/SOM parking lot for Walmart. We can car pool from there. Please contact Frank Skala or Ginny Aveni for details.

Come to our July 5 picnic
Bring a dish. FOEC will provide pizza. The picnic starts at 6PM near the dam removal site at the Highland Road entrance to the Euclid Creek Reservation. Please contact Frank Skala or jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net for details.

Euclid Beach Blast! Join our FOEC booth on Saturday, July 16
We are still looking for volunteers. Please let Frank Skala know if you can help.

Call for nominations - FOEC officers and directors
Please let Frank Skala (or me at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net) know if you have someone to nominate or are interested in becoming an officer or director to join the steering committee as we currently have openings and are accepting nominees. Here is our current list of board members including officers and directors.

Officers

• President: Frank Skala
• 1st Vice President: Larry McFadden
• 2nd Vice President: Gary Bloom
• Secretary: Jeanette Evans
• Treasurer: Ken Messenger-Rapport

Six directors

• Steve Albro
• Lou Drasler
• Rick Evans
  
• Frank Hogg
• Kathy Schaefer
  
• Carolyn Sugiuchi

Year in review
As our current officers complete the 2010-2011 term, here is a summary of the meetings held and speakers featured. Thank you to Frank Skala and all involved in making it such an interesting and productive year.

• Sept. 2010 - Meiring Borcherds, FOEC web site update
• October 2010 -Claire Posius, Barb Holtz, watershed issues update
• November 2010 -Dianne Bickett, Director of Solid Waste District, recycling and related issues
• December 2010 -Barb Pophal, holiday party at Mayfield Village Community Center
• Jan. 2011 -Claire Posius, Watershed Planning Guide review
• Feb. 2011 -Ginny Avemi, mapping future watershed projects
• March 2011 -Tom Evans, URS, watershed planning
• April 2011 -Claire Posius, Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation update
• May 2011 -Cleveland Metroparks Staff, Master Plan update
• June 2011 -Ken Messinger-Rapport, gas well drilling, Gasland
• July 2011 -Summer picnic (planned)
  

Please visit regularly

Please visit regularly Claire Posius' Soil and Water Conservation District Enews-Letter at
http://www.cuyahogaswcd.org/EuclidCreekFiles/enewsletter.htm
Thank you Claire! Please send comments and contibutions to Claire at cposius@cuyahogaswcd.org

Please visit regularly the FOEC website at http://friendsofeuclidcreek.nhlink.net/index.htm
Thank you Miering! Please send comments and contributions to Miering at friendsofeuclidcreek@gmail.com.

June steering committee meeting

In attendance at the June 15 steering committee meeting were Fran Hogg, Lou, Rick, Frank, Carolyn, and Jeanette. Frank called the meeting to order around 7:05PM.

Bishop Road conservation easement
We discussed how Derek Schaefer was pursuing this grant.

Picnic
Tuesday, July 5 is the date of the picnic. Barb Holtz reserved the location near the former dam site. Everyone is to bring something for the potluck. We should feel free to invite any council people. Fran is to bring pizza. We had about 50 people last year. Fran is to call Barb Pophol to bring dinnerware. We are encouraging people to bring reusable dinnerware. Frank will check on who will bring soft drinks. Fran is to bring a bocci set. People are to come at 6PM. Frank can come early if needed. Agenda of the meeting would be the nominations.

Cuyahoga River Tour on Sat., June 18
Ginny is set to host this. All who cannot come and signed up should let her know.

Nominations for officers
Larry provided an update via email. Carolyn is running and nominated to be on the board. We discussed other nominations. Frank will follow up with the nominees for the director opening for Kathy's position.

Speakers
Frank will look into a speaker about brownfields. Ginny has found many of the speakers for this year. We do not have a program chairperson for the coming year. Fran suggested we could take turns taking topics. We discussed alternating activities and presentations. Gasland is something we could continue to watch together. We discussed having no meeting on August if the brownfield presentation falls through. We discussed whether the Botanical Garden or area museums have a speaker's bureau?

Youth corps
Key Club at Mayfield High School works with Mr. Turk. They are looking for projects. Jeanette is to follow up with Mr. Turk to tell him that Fran and Larry will be in touch with him.

Listing of goals
Carolyn noted a list of goals that include survey of the watershed issues, youth corps, speaker's bureau, membership drive, rain gardens, and interest areas of members. Metroparks could share information from the meeting we attended. Meiring and Larry are addressing rain gardens.