Volunteers pitch in to clean up Mill Creek at Oak Park

About two dozen volunteers met along the banks of the West Fork of the
Mill Creek at Oak Park last weekend to spruce up the area.

Divided into three crews, one set out by canoe, to clean up trash from
the water.

The other two groups worked along the banks, removing invasive
honeysuckle and cleaning up trash from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 24.

The main focus of the volunteer event was to cut and remove
honeysuckle from the stream bank and remove garbage from the stream
and stream bank,” Megan Statt Blake, Wyoming’s assistant director of
community involvement said.

Volunteers hoisted large branches up a steep embankment and trimmed
trees to clear out the area near the entrance to the park.

Mary Jo Peairs volunteered for the clean-up.

“The more volunteers we have, it makesit so much easier,” she said.
"Many hands make little work.”

It’s part of the Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program 2013, in
which Wyoming was awarded $142,386 in grant funds from the Natural
Resource Assistance Council (NRAC), administered by the Ohio Public
Works Commission.

The volunteer hours, city employee hours and use of city equipment
contributed to Wyoming’s commitment to provide a 25 percent match of
in-kind contributions, totaling $47,463. The project will restore the
riparian corridor of the West Fork of the Mill Creek along the
city-owned property.

The riparian corridor is the interface between land and the creek, and
includes vegetation growing near the creek.

Blake explained that a healthy riparian benefits the community and the
environment:

• It preserves water quality by filtering sediment from runoff before
it enters the creek.

• It protects stream banks from erosion.

• It provides a storage area for flood waters.

• It provides food and habitat for fish and wildlife.

• It preserves open space and aesthetic surroundings.

The project area includes portions of Oak Park at the south end, the
Community Gardens, North Park, and Hike-Bike Trail at the north end,
consisting of about 4,500 linear feet of the stream bank in Wyoming.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...S01/308290146/

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