They say you can watch the world like a movie. I say you can also reach into the picture and change things. That's why I've been involved in local environmental activism, running the Friends of the Scioto River.
I got involved at first because I kept hearing news reports of someone jogging a bike trail, being assaulted by someone who came out of hiding in "the bushes" and I knew those were Amur honeysuckle, a major problem invasive plant in this part of the country.
Meanwhile I saw an ad for organizing a "friends of" group for the Scioto. There already were several others for other streams in the area. I joined, and after a few annual elections I eventually became the Chair.
The City of Columbus uses the Scioto as part of the drinking-water supply, so the Department of Public Utilities maintains the grounds along the reservoirs, including roads and bike trails. In 2005 I began to organize honeysuckle removal events, not only for trail safety but for the entire park grounds, because the honeysuckle smothers out all other undergrowth, including tree seedlings. Eventually the honeysuckle forms a solid bank of dense brush, and as the tree canopy dies off without regeneration, eventually there is nothing left but honeysuckle and standing deadwood.
Columbus (Ohio) provides a crew with chainsaws and a chipper truck. FOSR wrangles volunteers who drag cuttings. We typically produce about 10 tons of chips in an event. The park opens up; I joke that we have ruined a lot of good secluded party spots.
We organize litter cleanups along the river where trash has floated in and washed up. Most of this is plastic like bottles and bags and sheets, but you would be surprised at what can float, like a truck wheel or a bowling ball. All of that stuff is on its way down the Scioto to the Ohio River, to the Mississippi, to the Gulf of Mexico. Of course we can only catch a small part from our little branch of that whole watershed.
We have tree planting events, and we create rain gardens. The goal is to improve water quality in the watershed.
We are not alone. The local sister groups have organized into the Central Ohio Watershed Council, along with other groups like the local Sierra Club. Together we can meet with local officials and agencies to help guide policy and obtain permissions for events, and coordinate participation in their events.
Our groups can draw on pools of volunteers from around the community. Many companies expect their employees to participate in some kind of annual community service, and some choose to work with our groups. Being able to call them up to work toward making a visible difference is like being able to throw lightning bolts. Look around and you can probably find some kind of volunteer opportunities or programs.
There are things you might do on your own, like backyard wildflower conservation or maybe set up rain barrels (free water for the gardens). Each of those is a story in itself.
I got involved at first because I kept hearing news reports of someone jogging a bike trail, being assaulted by someone who came out of hiding in "the bushes" and I knew those were Amur honeysuckle, a major problem invasive plant in this part of the country.
Meanwhile I saw an ad for organizing a "friends of" group for the Scioto. There already were several others for other streams in the area. I joined, and after a few annual elections I eventually became the Chair.
The City of Columbus uses the Scioto as part of the drinking-water supply, so the Department of Public Utilities maintains the grounds along the reservoirs, including roads and bike trails. In 2005 I began to organize honeysuckle removal events, not only for trail safety but for the entire park grounds, because the honeysuckle smothers out all other undergrowth, including tree seedlings. Eventually the honeysuckle forms a solid bank of dense brush, and as the tree canopy dies off without regeneration, eventually there is nothing left but honeysuckle and standing deadwood.
Columbus (Ohio) provides a crew with chainsaws and a chipper truck. FOSR wrangles volunteers who drag cuttings. We typically produce about 10 tons of chips in an event. The park opens up; I joke that we have ruined a lot of good secluded party spots.
We organize litter cleanups along the river where trash has floated in and washed up. Most of this is plastic like bottles and bags and sheets, but you would be surprised at what can float, like a truck wheel or a bowling ball. All of that stuff is on its way down the Scioto to the Ohio River, to the Mississippi, to the Gulf of Mexico. Of course we can only catch a small part from our little branch of that whole watershed.
We have tree planting events, and we create rain gardens. The goal is to improve water quality in the watershed.
We are not alone. The local sister groups have organized into the Central Ohio Watershed Council, along with other groups like the local Sierra Club. Together we can meet with local officials and agencies to help guide policy and obtain permissions for events, and coordinate participation in their events.
Our groups can draw on pools of volunteers from around the community. Many companies expect their employees to participate in some kind of annual community service, and some choose to work with our groups. Being able to call them up to work toward making a visible difference is like being able to throw lightning bolts. Look around and you can probably find some kind of volunteer opportunities or programs.
There are things you might do on your own, like backyard wildflower conservation or maybe set up rain barrels (free water for the gardens). Each of those is a story in itself.
