Here is the schedule of planned events for the 2009 Celebrate Our River week, Sept 9th to 12th. Please consider attending/participating and inviting fellow students, colleagues, and interested groups and individuals.
Wednesday September 9th
Mapping the River presentation by University of Michigan Arts on Earth Program. 7:00-8:30pm Student Union 2582
Thursday September 10th
Planting of the Center for Performing Arts rain garden. 4:00-6:00pm outside CPA building, north side across from Bowman Oddy Building
Thursday/Friday September 10th/11th
President’s Commission on the River Display. Carlson Library
Saturday September 12th
Thirteenth Annual Clean Your Streams Day. Meet outside the Carlson Library overlooking the river starting at 800am. For more information, including group registration, refer to http://www.partnersforcleanstreams.org/CYS.html
May 28, 2009
By Chris Vickers of WTOL. Original source: http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=10440244
(WTOL) - Storm water management is always an issue when it rains too much too quickly. The University of Toledo has explored an environmentally-friendly option to help address the issue.
Its not just a garden, but a natural way of treating storm water runoff. "Rain gardens are a green solution to treating not only the quality of storm water runoff, but the quantity," said Hans Gottgens with UT Environmental Sciences.
"It may not seem like this little garden can do much, but it's the message that matters," said Gottgens.
Instead of storm water running directly into the river, rain gardens are useful for storing that water, filtering any pollutants.
Gottgens told us, "It is really intended to be an educational resource as well as an environmental resource."
As students pass by, they may not even notice the compete function of the garden. "As a symbolism of the filtering capability of the fairly small rain garden, we designed the garden in the shape of a kidney symbolizing the function a kidney would have in the human body."
April 15, 2009
During Earth Day, Wednesday April 22nd, the Commission will participate in the following events on main campus:
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March 26, 2009
During the week of March 23rd, 2009 a heavy rain event lead to a rise in water levels in the Ottawa River and increased storm water and runoff from parking lots, resulting in some flooding of areas on UT's main campus. UT photographer Dan Miller provided these pictures taken along the river after the storm. Please click on the photos to open their full-size view.
January 5, 2009
The President's Commission on the River has just posted its 2008 Annual Report (10MB).
This 2008 report provides summaries and updates of recent and future projects and programs for each of the following areas:
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| Above: Kristin Cavanagh, a UT student and former commission member, cuts the ribbon at the dedication ceremony. Below: Members of the President's Commission on the River, the Toledo Rain Garden Initiative, and other UT students, faculty, and staff attended the ceremony officiated by Dr. Patrick Lawrence. Photo credits: Hans Gottgens |
September 15, 2008
A quick-draining, native vegetation demonstration rain garden between Parking Lot 10 north of the Glass Bowl and the Ottawa River on Main Campus was formally dedicated on Monday, September 15, 2008. The garden collects and filters storm water runoff from a 30,000-square-foot area and helps prevent it from draining directly into the Ottawa River, according to Dr. Hans Gottgens, professor of environmental sciences. The garden not only soaks up runoff and makes the campus more beautiful, but it also serves as an outdoor classroom for students studying water quality and environmental sustainability practices. Storm water carries a lot of pollutants, and keeping sediments, fertilizer, lawn and garden pesticides, oil and road salt out of the river on Main Campus is better for the fish and insects that live there, at the bottom of the food chain. Before the installation of the garden, storm water drained directly into the river.
The President's Commission on the River is the focus of an Eco-Track 11 spot running on WTOL. It highlights our past and future work on the river project on UT's Main Campus.
Celebrate Our River September 17-19, 2007
Three major events were held Monday, Sept. 17, 2007 as the University held its first-ever "Celebrate Our River" event to give faculty, staff and students a chance to learn more about the river. The event was sponsored by the President's Commission on the River.
People canoed the waterway and enjoyed the scenery, and canoes were made available to the first 24 people, and those with their own canoes or kayaks were welcome. The event started in Ottawa Hills where the river crosses Talmadge Road north of Bancroft Street.
On Tuesday, Sept. 18, members of the UT Society of Environmental Education displayed handouts in the Student Union on Main Campus from 10 a.m. to 1:50 p.m.
A fish sampling demonstration took place Wednesday, Sept. 19, at 4 p.m. on the river next to the Law Center parking lot.
Bringing to a close the first chapter of work of the President's Commission on the River, the group presented its final report to President Lloyd Jacobs during a meeting Dec. 15.
"You've completed your charge in an exemplary way," said Jacobs, who then asked the group to envision how members would envision moving into an implementation phase.
The report entitled The River Runs Through It, outlines a number of opportunities to enhance and celebrate the Ottawa River as it crosses the Main Campus, including a student plaza, a boardwalk concept, river walks and rain gardens.
Richard Eastop, vice president emeritus of enrollment services and commission chair compared the potential for the river to the Centennial Mall project in the 1980's and the report's student-centered nature and recruitment opportunities it presents.
The commission will reconvene in January to discuss next steps, membership and early implementation steps.