The University of Toledo

Commission on the River

University of Toledo Ottawa River Restoration and Improvement Information Meeting

February 14, 2012
9:00am – 2:30pm
University of Toledo Student Union Room 2591
Registration is limited
RSVP by February 10 to patrick.lawrence@utoledo.edu
Hosted by the University of Toledo President’s Commission on the River

Join us for a discussion on restoration plans for the Ottawa River that runs through the University of Toledo's main campus. The aim of these plans is to improve aquatic habitats with the use of natural materials and native plants. This workshop would be of interest to university staff and students, professionals, and the community.

 Agenda

• 9:00am Welcome and Introductions: Lawrence
• 9:15am Project Overview: Lawrence and Horvat
• 9:30am Presentation on concept plans and questions:
• ACOE Buffalo team
• 10:30am Break
• 10:45am Vegetation plantings and plan: Horvat and Walters
• 11:00am Open forum and discussion
• 12:pm Lunch (provided)
• 1:00pm Project schedule and timelines: Lawrence and Horvat
• 1:30pm Site visit (weather permitting)

 

Live Stake Install on the Ottawa River / UT Main Campus

May 21, 2011

Below is a video of the installation of live stakes on the Ottawa River for research, restoration and stabilization.

River Restoration Project Grant Award

By Patrick Lawrence: January 7th, 2011.

The President’s Commission on the River has been awarded a grant of $235,197 from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Section 319(h) Nonpoint Source Program to construct a river restoration project along a section of the Ottawa River on the main campus of the University of Toledo. Preliminary design work for this project has been underway since 2009 with funding support provided by the Stranahan Foundation and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. The aim of this project is to restore and enhance upwards of 900 feet of the Ottawa River in the vicinity of Savage Arena which will include improvements to in-stream aquatic habitat and native vegetation along the banks. Design plans will be discussed at a river restoration workshop to be held at the University of Toledo on March 1st, 2011. Construction of the river restoration elements will occur in two phases, with initial test structures installed in August 2011 and the remaining completion of the project in August 2012. This project will be undertaken in partnership with TMACOG, US Army Corp of Engineers, Ohio EPA, and the US Fish & Wildlife Service. For more information on this project please contact Dr Patrick Lawrence patrick.lawrence@utoledo.edu.

Events slated for Celebrate Our River Week

By Vicki L. Kroll : September 7th, 2010. Original source: utnews.utoledo.edu/index.php/09_07_2010/events-slated-for-celebrate-our-river-week

Not every university has a river that runs through campus.

Take a few minutes to remember that and learn more during Celebrate Our River Week.

Several events have been planned by the President’s Commission on the River, a group dedicated to improving the Ottawa River on campus for research, teaching and public outreach.

“The Ottawa River is an important part of the University campus and our community, and the efforts by the President’s Commission on the River and the many partners are intended to enhance and preserve the natural legacy and future of the river to our environment,” said Dr. Patrick L. Lawrence, UT associate professor and chair of geography and planning, who is chair of the commission.

Events scheduled will be:

• Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 8-10 — information displays in Carlson Library.
• Thursday, Sept. 9, at noon — Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Student River Plaza, located behind the Student Union and Carlson Library. UT President Lloyd Jacobs is scheduled to speak at the event. Refreshments will be served.
• Friday, Sept. 10, at noon — Rubber Duck Race. The toy fowls will be launched at the bridge by Carlson Library and float downstream to the finish line at the David Root Bridge on Towerview Boulevard East. The number of contestants will depend on how many tickets are sold; $1 will enter two rubber ducks. Cash prizes will be up for grabs. Funds raised will benefit future river restoration projects. Tickets will be on sale in the Student Union from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 8-9, and at the race.
  
• Saturday, Sept. 11, 8:30 a.m. — Clean Your Streams. Come on down to the Ottawa River and volunteer a few hours to pick up along the waterway on Main Campus. Meet at the new Student River Plaza to take part in the community-wide event, which annually draws some 700 volunteers at more than 30 cleanup sites in Toledo. The University is a partner for the 14th annual Clean Your Streams, which is part of the Ohio Coast Weeks Program and the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup Event. In Toledo, the event is organized by Partners for Clean Streams.

“Clean Your Streams is a great opportunity for students in fraternities and sororities to gain philanthropy hours,” Lawrence said.

For more information and to register groups, go to www.partnersforcleanstreams.org/cys.html.

For more information on Celebrate Our River Week, contact Lawrence at patrick.lawrence@utoledo.edu  or 419.530.4128.

 

Public Meeting on Ottawa River Dredging Project March 2, 2010

More information on the project details can be found in this announcement and at http://www.epa.gov/glla/ottawa/

 

2009 Celebrate Our River Week Sept. 9-12

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

EcoTrack 11: Rain Gardens Address Storm Water Runoff

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."

 

River Commission Earth Day Events

April 15, 2009

During Earth Day, Wednesday April 22nd, the Commission will participate in the following events on main campus:

• River Bank Clean-Up
  Meet at Savage Area overlook at 9:30 AM, all volunteers are welcome. Please bring work gloves and appropriate footwear.
• Student Union Display
  11:00 AM to 4:00 PM We are in need of volunteers to cover one hour slots for 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, and 3:00 PM. Please contact Patrick Lawrence if you are interested and available.

Ottawa River Breaches Banks on Campus

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.

2008 Annual Report Posted

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:

• Beautification
• Environmental Improvements
• Public Access
• Research
• Fund Raising
• Student Involvement
• Education
• Community Engagement

 

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

Rain Garden Dedicated with Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

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.

WTOL Eco-Track 11 Features UT President's Commission on 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.

 

Concept Drawings for Student Plaza and Savage Hall Projects

 

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.
 

River Commission Reports to President

December 2006

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.