Save Maumee’s 12th Annual Earth DayS…because one day was just not enough to plant 1,100 trees
ALWAYS RAIN OR SHINE
Earth Day Video – DAY 1 https://www.youtube.com/
Download Printable Earth Day 2017 PDF
DOWNLOAD ENTIRE PROJECT 2016-2018: RBI I & II Project Specs
Trier Ditch Subwatershed project area(s): Entire project completed with the help of YOU!
Locations: Heatherwood Park & Moser Park
-
- Installation of 2,800 linear feet of riparian buffers with a width no less than 20 feet to yield approximately 1.29 acre per site (56,000 sq. ft.) *(2,800 linear feet X 25 ft width = 1.61 acre (70,000 sq. ft.)
- Adding 1,100 total trees (18 species) to capture 64,900 gallons/year (59 gallons/tree)
- Nitrogen load reduction for this watershed to yield 426.66 lb. / year.
- Phosphorus load reduction to yield 253.32 lb. / year.
- Sediment load reduction to yield 253.34 tons / year
- Partnered with New Haven Parks and Recreation Dept. & East Allen Community Schools
- Over 2,000 Asian Honeysuckle were removed from these two sites
-
- Volunteer Hours by 209 people:
- 422 hours logged April 3-April 20 (invasive removal)
- 242.5 hours logged April 21 Public Event, Heatherwood Park
- 471 hours logged April 22 Public Event, Moser Park
- 215.5 hours logged April 23 Public Event, Heatherwood Park
- Volunteer Hours by 209 people:
SEE ENTIRE 2,780 Tree Planting Riparian Buffer Initiative Project HERE
The areas that are in need of more trees and plants along perennial streams:
1) Bullerman Ditch (map)
2) Six Mile Creek (map)
3) Trier Ditch – (map)
4) Entire Map of Maumee Basin in Indiana
What did the media say?
————————————————————-
Save Maumee to plant 1,100 trees
Save Maumee believes Earth Day is a time for action.
So, from April 21-23, the group aims to plant 1,100 trees in Trier Ditch.
Save Maumee began when Abigail King bought a house along the Maumee River. She was looking forward to her “beachfront” property, she said, but was told by many she shouldn’t go in the river due to its condition.
In 2005, Save Maumee planted its first trees in an effort to improve that water quality.
Recently, Save Maumee received a Federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
Along with matching funds and donations, the organization has about $150,000 to help implement the Upper Maumee Watershed Management Plan.
“Rivers are important because water is life,” King said “Our water sources are really important; that’s why the federal government is getting little groups money — all the easy fixes they have already tried.”
Save Maumee’s goal is to plant 2,780 trees in the “most degraded” ditches of the Maumee River by 2018, including Trier, Bullerman and Sixmile ditches.
In three days over April 21-23, they hope to plant 1,100 of those trees with the community’s help.
On Friday and Sunday they will be planting near Heatherwood Park, with Saturday’s event — expected to be the largest — at Moser Park.
The month before, the organization will be removing invasive species in preparation for the plantings, King said.
Planting trees in ditches may not be the most glamorous work, but King said it is important.
Shade over the water can increased dissolved oxygen in the river, helping the animals who call it home, she said. In addition, trees hold sediment, which King said is the “No. 1 problem” leading to degraded water quality. Trees can also capture excess nutrients and phosphorus in the water, with a tree on average being able to absorb 59 gallons of water per year of life.
By planting in flood-prone areas, “trees help with holding and retaining water on land longer instead of flooding areas downstream,” she said.
King said they’ve had success at prior Earth Day events, with more than 260 people logging more than 900 volunteer hours in a single day.
This year’s plantings will take place rain or shine, King said. She recommended that those attending dress for the weather, wearing boots or “real shoes” and long pants.
The event is family friendly and will include live entertainment as well, King said.
In addition to Earth Day plantings, Save Maumee has also hosted an annual canoe cleanup and a seed harvest in partnership with Eagle Marsh or Fox Island.
“We want to have clean water and clean things that live in there, so everybody is better and healthier,” King said.
_______________________
Politics, science mix in global Earth Day events
Photo credit:
Written by: Zachary D. Elick
Some of the rhetoric and policies of the Trump administration have many people in the scientific community worried about the president’s feelings toward science.
For example, the White House proposed significant cuts last month to federal agencies that fund scientific research, such as the National Institute of Health, NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency.
While campaigning, President Trump expressed skepticism of the widely held idea in the science community that climate change is a man-made phenomenon. And after being inaugurated, the president has pushed back against former President Obama’s efforts to combat climate change, such as the Clean Power Plan.
Trump also referred to global warming as a “hoax” on several occasions prior to his presidency.
“The concern is when the value of science begins to be questioned by our leaders — whether they are political leaders or economic leaders — then there is a fear that possible distrust is going to filter down into the general population,” said Ronald Friedman, IPFW professor of chemistry.
Science supporters will gather at Northeast Indiana Celebrates Science!, to be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 22 at Moser Park Nature Center, 601 W. Main St., New Haven.
Inspired by the global demonstration March for Science, NICS will include a nearly 1-mile long walk around downtown New Haven. NICS will also feature speakers from the surrounding community and information about how to get involved in various social issues, said Jerri Martin, one of the event’s organizers.
March for Science will be held on the same day as NICS in more than 500 cities around the world, according to its official website. The demonstration is a nonpartisan movement that “call(s) for science that upholds the common good and for political leaders and policymakers to enact evidence based policies in the public interest,” as written on its website.
Martin said NICS is also a nonpartisan event.
“We’re hoping to be inclusive. We’re hoping that we get Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians,” she said. “(Science) is really something that is done by everybody, it’s not just relegated to one group alone.”
Martin is a member of the nonprofit organization People for the Common Good, which is co-hosting NICS with Save Maumee Grassroots Organization.
People for the Common Good is a grassroots coalition that advocates for different social issues in the Fort Wayne area. It was formed by Sarah Hyndman in November 2016 after she was upset by Trump’s election and wanted to get more politically involved.
“I thought, what if everyone who felt like me — who felt very disheartened and worried and angry and fearful — what if we all took those feelings and channeled them into something positive?,” Hyndman said via phone. “Maybe we can’t change what happens on a national level, but we can certainly make a difference at the local level, and I think that’s where some of the greatest impact can be had.”
Martin said she hopes attendees stay at Moser Park after their march for Save Maumee’s 12th annual Earth Day celebration. For this year’s three-day celebration, the organizers are attempting to plant more than 1,000 trees over the course of the weekend of April 21-23.
Earth Days 2017 was our 3rd project that was completed through the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GRLI) and U.S. Forest Service grant. Save Maumee and the USDA are equal opportunity providers, employers, and lenders. CLICK HERE for full nondiscriminatory policy.