Celebrate Our River September 17, 18, & 19
Three major events will be held starting Monday, Sept. 17, as the University holds its first-ever "Celebrate Our River" event to give faculty, staff and students a chance to learn more about the river. The event is sponsored by the President's Commission on the River.
People can river the canoe the waterway and enjoy the scenery at 2 p.m. Monday. Canoes will be available to the first 24 people, and those with their own canoes or kayaks are welcome. The event starts 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 will have a display and handouts in the Student Union on Main Campus from 10 a.m. to 1:50 p.m.
A fish sampling demonstration is set Wednesday, Sept. 19, at 4 p.m. on the river next to the Law Center parking lot.
For more information, call Dr. Patrick Lawrence, associate professor of geography and planning and chair of the President's Commission on the River, at 419.530.4128 or e-mail patrick.lawrence@utoledo.edu.
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.