INVITATION

Sunday April 22, 2012

11am-4pm

Come to our Open-Non-House!

Plant trees, seed, plant plugs, install erosion control mats and remove garbage on the banks of the Maumee when you have an hour or five to spare, rally for clean water, support your local waterways…and have fun doing it with live entertainment!

Cleansing the riverbanks of garbage 11am – 4pm  – You won’t be able to miss it meet us at the big tent!
LOCATION:

On the corner of N. Anthony Blvd. and Niagara Dr.

We will meet here:

• 
  View Larger MapPEOPLE WITH TRUCKS BE HERE AT NOON! – We will be sending you to remote sites for clean-up of other river areas! WHAT TIME exactly are things happening?  Well, the day rolls out like a rushing river so here is a general guide to events….
• 11am – I.C. Coldwater will present on water quality locally
• 11am – 3:30pm – Silent Auction (see items for bid below)
• 11am-4pm     Education & Displays all day  (see time sheet at INFO table when you arrive)
• NOON – Bring your trucks meet at the dumpster for remote site clean-up
  In 2012 we plan to remove trash from streams and waterways from Eagle Marsh to I 469 in New Haven – WOW!
• 12-3 Grateful Groove – Grateful Dead Cover Band
• 1:30pm – Edible Herb Education – Jain Young – Herb Specialist
• 2:30 – Children’s Story Time
• 3pm – Birds of Prey Demonstration – Soarin’ Hawk Raptor Rehab
• 3:45  Silent Auction WINNERS ANNOUNCED (must be present to win)
• 4pm – Save Maumee STOMP- Help us to secure new seeds planted on the banks of the Maumee to insure they root into the streambank~ NO STOMPING ON NEW LIFE GROWING!

Unspecified time events:
Delivery of 25 pizza’s from Sports & Spirits
Natural Scavenger Hunt
Face Painting
Face Sketching from local artist Jerrod Tobias
Rainbarrel Demo from WeCycle
Enviroscape ~ to explain on a little scale, how water drains in our watershed on a larger scale!
How to make a “natural” water filtration device for emergency water use demonstration
Free schwag (cool stuff to give away) – many sponsors for this!
What are we installing to help the natural environment filter runoff?
1 acre worth of seed
200lbs of chaff
Hundreds of trees (don’t plant near power poles or 15 ft. from the sidewalks)
Hundreds of plant plugs (pre-grown plants)
4,500 sq. ft. of erosion control mats
Silent Auction List  ~ to keep our “free” events free…bring your checkbook….we’re having a silent auction!

• 3 Organic Grown Bartlett Pear Trees
• Downtown Grind gift basket
• Foellinger Theater – 2 tickets to choice of Cherish the Ladies, The Guess Who, or Starship
• Fort Wayne Children Zoo – family fun packs – two of them
• Fort Wayne Outfitters/Bike Depot – 1/2 day rental for two on kayak or canoe rental
• Hall’s Restaurant – $50 worth of gift certificates
• Kreepydoll – made from salvaged material
• Neuhouser Nursery gift basket
• Organic knitted item
• Paula’s Seafood – $50 gift certificate
• Painting from local artisan Jerrod Tobias
• Pampered Pets gift basket
• Two competitors working toward cleaner water and YOUR health.  It shows the importance of our work when competitors work together for clean water…everyone wins!
  1) “Prana Yoga” –  2 hour Thai Massage and Yoga 101 Classes
  2) “True Potential” – Yoga Fit Classes & Henna Tattoo
• Random Act of Gardening – Will provide you a 10X20 garden, services include: tilling, plants, seeds – (The 3 sisters beans, squash, corn) broccoli, peppers and two other food choices for your new garden…request what you prefer! Approximate value $200 – approximate hours of service to complete your garden is 5 hours.

More Silent Auction items coming as we send you this email so this is NOT a comprehensive list – THANK YOU to all sponsors!
LET THE BIDDING BEGIN!

OTHER UPCOMING SAVE MAUMEE, LAKE ERIE WATERKEEPER EVENTS 2012

• THIS WEDNESDAY – April 18th – from 4pm-10pm Eat at Texas Roadhouse on Lima Rd. and help our rivers!
  Save Maumee receives 10% of all food sales IF you show them this email!  Meet us there!
• May 2nd (Wednesday) at 7-9pm Ernest Rando coming to teach us about aquaponics at Fort Wayne downtown Library ROOM C – he will have working aquaponics demo there and include a list of all plants, fish and veggies we can grow with aquaponics.  Will answer questions and present from basic gardening skills to technical questions! Coming from Gary, IN for his presentation…so we are requesting $15 at door to cover costs.
• May 5th & 6th – Sol Fest, Abby received a full scholarship to the National River Rally in Portland, Oregon and if we are to participate at Sol Fest we need volunteers so CALL ABBY if you can help to run the enviroscape….just ask and we’ll help you prepare! 260.417.2500
• Saturday ~ September 15th ~ 5th Annual Canoe Clean-Up, Can YOU Clean-Up @ Fort Wayne Outfitter / Bike Depot
• Saturday  ~ October 20th ~ 4th Annual Save Maumee Seed Harvest @ Little River Wetlands Project /Eagle Marsh
  (NOT Fox Island County Park in 2012) we are giving that prairie a rest from harvesting.—-MEETINGS NEED ATTENDANCE SO WE KNOW YOUR OPINIONS TO IMPROVE OUR RIVERS —-
  Save Maumee, Lake Erie Waterkeeper wants you to attend our monthly action meetings
  FIRST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH
  Permanent meeting place & mailing address
  Don Hall’s Old Gas House
  305 E. Superior St. Fort Wayne, IN 46802  (cross street is Spy Run)
  7PM-8:30 sharp
  Free coffee and tea will be served – tip not included
  CLICK FOR DIRECTIONS
• Monday May 7th, 2012
  will be our 2nd meeting ever, but we are moving quickly to create the board and move projects forward
• Monday June 4th
• Monday July 2nd
• Monday Aug. 6th
• Monday Sept. 3rd
  you get the idea

Information you should know:

1. “Indiana Tops Nation in Water Pollution”
2. or “AK Steel nation’s premiere toxic water polluter”  Indiana leads the nation in the release of toxic chemicals into water
3. Corporate farms can sue you for taking pictures or complaining about them
4. FDA prohibits certain antibiotics for cattle, swine, chickens and turkeys to preserve the effectiveness of treating humans….
5. Antibiotics and other drugs have been found in drinking water.
6. Tell Congress: Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right!
7. “America’s Waterways received 226 Million Pounds of Toxic Chemicals“
8. Save Maumee “Earth Day draws attention to clean water initative”
9. PLEASE COMPOST IT – and use as fertilizer so we don’t have more blue-green algae in the Great Lakes!

Save Maumee ~ Voted “2011 Organization of the Year (video)” by Hoosier Environmental Council – article about it here:
Thank you for your continued support for the ENTIRE Lake Erie Basin,
See you this week!

HOW TO PLANT SEEDS:

1. Find a bare area where grass needs to grow…don’t walk on the other new life!
2. Stir up some dirt with your shoe or stick
3. Sprinkle sees in the raked up dirt
4. Cover the newly planted seeds with the other dirt you stirred up
5. Step-on the freshly planted seeds to hold them in the Earth!
6. On your way back from your walk, pick up all the garbage with the bag!
7. If you find something hazardous and feel uncomfortable touching it…Save
Maumee Representatives will be there to assist in removal!

* Single-pot meth labs look like a plastic bottle with a hose coming out of it. 
DO NOT TOUCH IT – THESE CAN EXPLODE! WE DO NOT WANT YOU HURT!
* By the way – PLEASE take heed that the Maumee River is on the 303 (d) list for impaired waters….this means it contains enough e. coli to make you very ill.  If you need a story to bring this point home, PLEASE READ THIS

Don’t just dream about clean rivers…Come out & help rain or shine….if not you….WHO?

In your yard Cottonwoods and Mulberry may be unwanted, but these “trash” trees are beneficial to riverbanks.

We choose this area because it is where the trash has the first chance to collect downstream of all the armoring (removal of trees/grasses and replacing with rock and pavement) upstream.  This is the first area the trash has a chance to collect on the streambanks.

What we did in 2011 CLICK HERE for longer VIDEO

2011 FUNNY VIDEO
What we did in 2010 CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO- Part 1 of 6!

What we did in 2009 CLICK HERE!

Over the years musical talent has included:
Dave P., Grateful Groove, Will Brown from the Afrodiasiacs, Beyond all Rational Thought, Carol Dean and Les Lesser, The Wilderness, Anthony Garr, Sounds of Saturn

Cleaning up your dog’s poop on a walk will also improve water quality, so don’t forget your plastic baggie when you grab Rover’s leash! – Dogs are not prohibited, but not encouraged at the event…

NEED DONATED FOR EARTH DAY  ~

• ALWAYS looking for donations of NATIVE seeds, NATIVE trees, NATIVE pre-grown plants, NATIVE bushes, soil sand, and straw bales
• Face Paint
• Prizes for hard working participants (a.k.a. schwag)
• Food donations – single serving – Board of Health Certified
• Waterproof rubber Boots & “waders”
• Trash grabbers (garbage picker-uppers)
• minnow nets
• whistles for around the neck in case of emergencies
• Flat “John Boat”and/or outboard motor (can provide a tax deductible receipt)
• Someone who will commit to letting us use their copy machines, lamination machines, printers to make copies of related Save Maumee material that will be distributed to the public.
• Earth Friendly garbage bags this year?
• Suggestions for the event include recycling facility – a possibility, but most of the rubbish is river dirt, muddy – unsure to date
• REUSABLE water bottles – prefer stainless steel or plastic that is NOT  Bisphenol A (BPA)  – we want BPA-free plastic
• More Mats + More Seed = More $.  Bring your wallet, but this is a FREE event!
• All money from the previous year goes to erosion control mats and purchase of more seed/trees/plugs for next year

Updates from 2011 Earth Day -LAST YEAR

NO CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP: 100% donations from our local citizens go only and directly to best management practices for naturalization of riparian areas – this is what grassroots organizing is all about! ALL VOLUNTEERS~ All money came from: Grateful Music Productions/Save Maumee Rock Out-Camp Out, Berlin Music Pub’s PUNK PARTY, Save Maumee Earth Day 2010, Save Maumee Canoe Clean-Up 2010, Save Maumee Presents: Sounds of Saturn & Les Nester at Dash-In, Sports & Spirits Bar & Grill. Namaste to many small monetary donors! Save Maumee did not raise as much money as last year but we are very proud to supply you with these effective erosion control techniques for OUR riverbanks!
Save Maumee Grassroots Organization attempted to make national T.V. ~ (yea we wish) we want the media to help us draw attention to our efforts and many issues that face our waterways because we want CLEAN WATER. If you do not want to be video recorded, be aware of the cameras and keep working out of sight & sign the waiver. ~ EVERYONE WELCOME!
Disclaimer: Save Maumee does not carry power as to the fate of our rivers. YOU DO! People need to feel more connected to each other, to nature, and to the things that are most valuable. We feel a personal connection to our waterways and love our rivers and we want you to as well. Civic duty and helping your fellow man should be words that fall from your mouth continuously. We want this event to leave you hopeful and empowered. Please realize that we all want the same thing – CLEAN WATER. Water is a right not a luxury and keeping pollution out of our rivers is our priority. We do not talk politics, but you are making a political statement by being here.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, dedicated citizens can change the world… indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead
Special THANK YOU from Save Maumee to ALL the people who helped bring all of us together this year! Our events are FREE but ALL donations go to projects like this one! Give till it hurts – OUCH!
See our thank you list!