Imagine the weight of seven elephants or five school buses.
That’s how much trash polluting nearby waterways that Rockets have removed since The University of Toledo started volunteering in the annual Clean Your Streams event in 2004.
Imagine the weight of seven elephants or five school buses. That’s how much trash polluting nearby waterways that Rockets have removed since The University of Toledo started volunteering in the annual Clean Your Streams event in 2004.
From couches and refrigerators to bikes and beer cans, 70,000 pounds of debris symbolize the sustainability commitment of UToledo faculty, staff and students to clean up the planet — starting in their own backyard.
The Ottawa River runs through The University of Toledo Main Campus and empties directly into Lake Erie and Swan Creek cuts through Health Science Campus.
“More than 3,200 volunteers from UToledo and counting have participated in the annual Clean Your Streams event,” said Tim Niederkorn, assistant director of environmental health and radiation safety at UToledo. “Every year we are proud to give back to our city and region by helping to improve the water resources of our local rivers and streams.”
Dr. Patrick Lawrence, professor of geography and planning, spearheaded UToledo’s participation in the debris-cleaning project 18 years ago.
“We started on Main Campus, extended west into Ottawa Hills and east off of campus, and several years ago added Swan Creek sites at UTMC,” Lawrence said. “Most of the volunteers registering at UToledo and working our sites come from various student organizations including fraternities and sororities.”
Advance registration is required for the 2022 cleanup scheduled from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. Visit the Clean Your Streams website to register by Friday, Sept. 16.
Clean Your Streams is part of a larger initiative started 26 years ago by local nonprofit Partners for Clean Streams.
Volunteers can expect to see more single-use plastics and fewer large appliances this year.
“In more recent years, it has shifted to more plastics, foam and food wrappers, but still piles of tires at some of the off-campus sites,” said Kristina Patterson, executive director of Partners for Clean Streams.
On Sept. 24, UToledo volunteers will sign in at the Law Center patio. Students will then be provided transportation to one of three off-campus locations — North Expressway Drive, Sterling Park or Byrne Road Bridge — for the cleanup and then back to Main Campus by 11:30 a.m.
“Protection of urban rivers is critical for our drinking water and wildlife habitat,” Lawrence said. “This cleanup is a staple for our University. I look forward to our Rocket family making 2022’s event a success. Putting in the work for a few hours on a Saturday morning is an incredibly rewarding experience.”
