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Ohio Environmental Education Fund

2006 Fiscal Year Grant Awards Summary

During the spring and fall 2006 grant rounds, the OEEF awarded the following 18 grants for a total of $733,343.00.

Ohio University, “Improving Environmental Awareness of Water, Waste, and Land Issues in Appalachian Ohio (WWL Ohio) through a High School Student Contest of Computer-Simulated Environmental Models,” $48,200.00, Athens and Meigs Counties, Audience: Pre-K through University (High School), #06G-036, Contact: Chang Liu, liuc@ohio.edu, 740-593-1249.

WWL (water, waste, land) Ohio uses “Alice”, an educational 3-D Authoring and Modeling System developed by Carnegie Mellon University, to help students at Athens and Meigs High Schools better understand the local environmental issues related to acid mine drainage, septic system maintenance and coal mine reclamation. The students will create and use three-dimensional models to simulate environmental impacts. The winners in a contest of these models will then create accompanying exhibits for display of their models in public libraries to help educate local residents.

The Ohio Wildlife Center (OWC), “Seasons of Change: Ohio Wild Animal, Wild Habitat Learning Adventures for Second Grade Students”, $42,532.00, Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Pickaway, and Union Counties, Audience: Pre-school through University (Grade 2), #06G-046, Contact: Barbara Ray, brayowc@, 614-734-9453.

Provides classroom visits and field trips on Ohio native animals and habitats for more than 500 second grade students in 22 classrooms. In the pilot project, participating teachers will help OWC create and field test inquiry-based and hands-on activities and supply/resource kits which will then be available to other teachers.in 58 school districts in nine counties. An on-line environmental education network will be created for 300 teachers and science curriculum administrators offering trainings, resources, and opportunities at OWC to help integrate environmental education into their lesson plans. All programs will be correlated to the Ohio Academic Content Standards. Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks are collaborating.

Wright State University, “Web-based Education for Sanitarians,” $50,000.00, Statewide, Audience: Regulated Community, #06G-047, Contact: Janet Rickabaugh, janet.rickabaugh@wright.edu, 937-258-5555.

Provides web-based educational resources and online learning modules to help environmental health professionals achieve certification as Registered Sanitarians in Ohio. Issues include food safety, drinking water quality, air quality, noise, industrial and land pollution, sewage disposal, hazardous and toxic substances, and solid waste management. The State Board of Sanitarian Registration is collaborating.

Fisher-Titus Medical Center, “Safe Sharps Disposal for Home-Based Sharps Users,” $14,295.00, Erie, Huron, Lorain Counties, Audience: General Public, #06G-048, Contact: Lisa Myer, lmeyer@, 419-668-8101, ext. 6302.

Provides an outreach program to educate home sharps (syringes) users about the health dangers related to unsafe sharps disposal into the waste stream, and to provide alternative disposal methods. Project seeks to reduce the potential risk to waste management disposal workers and housekeeping personnel serving public areas, like restrooms in public buildings and parks. Collaborators include the Huron County Commissioners, Norwalk Furniture Corporation, Huron County Health District, American Diabetes Association, Kiwanis Club, Prime Care Group and Ohio EPA Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management.

The Ohio State University Extension Service, Madison County, “The Madison County Watershed Monitoring Education Project,” $45,514.00, Madison County, Audience: Pre-school through University (High School), #06G-051, Contact: Eric Imerman, imerman.1@osu.edu, 740-852-0975.

Water quality education project for 350 high school agricultural/FFA students, who will learn to monitor the Little Darby Creek, Deer Creek, and Paint Creek. Monthly samples gathered from the three watersheds will be analyzed for fertilizer and herbicide content resulting from non-point source pollution. Students will help to create educational materials for farmers and residents in the watersheds. Collaborators include FFA Chapters at London City Schools, Tolles Career and Technical Center and Madison Plains Schools.

Ecological Design Innovation Center, “Full Circle Learning: Linking Local Foods and Composting Education,” $49,000.00, Lorain County, Audience: Pre-school-University (Elementary and College), #06G-054, Contact: Brad Masi, bradmasi@

Establishes an all-season vermi-composting demonstration and learning station that will process food waste from Oberlin College dining halls. Hands-on activities for visiting K-5 students will be aligned with Ohio standards, and applied research and monitoring information from the project will be incorporated into several courses at the college. A two-day training will be offered for low-income, inner-city residents participating in an Urban Market Gardeners program in Cleveland on how to use restaurant and microbrewery organic wastes and a composting method that works in confined spaces to restore the productivity of urban lands to generate foods for local markets. The station will also be used to teach local farmers about composting and straw-bale construction methods. Collaborators include the City of Oberlin, Oberlin Public Schools, the Great Lakes Brewing Company, OSU Extension, and Heifer Project International.

Sunday Creek Associates, “Little Cities of the Forest: From Stakeholders to Stewards,” $50,000.00, Athens, Hocking, Morgan, Perry Counties, Audience: General Public, #06G-056, Contact: Andrew Bashaw, andrewbashaw@, 740-767-3348.

Builds on a previous OEEF mini grant that created environmental history tours in the Little Cities of Black Diamonds (LCBD) region of the Hocking Valley coal fields. The new project targets residents of these former mining communities and environmental resource professionals, to explore ways to restore and protect the local environment, while encouraging sustainable eco-tourism as an economic development tool. Project includes publication of At The Glacier’s Edge to document environmental history and ongoing restoration efforts in the region. The Sunday Creek Associates will offer three free day-long, hands-on natural heritage tours, and several community forums to discuss the environmental future of the region as well as restoration and redevelopment issues. Project findings will be shared with natural resource professionals at the Ohio Hill Country Heritage Area retreat. Collaborators include the Little Cities of Black Diamonds Council, Hocking College School of Natural Resources, Monday Creek Restoration Project, New Straitsville Improvement Committee, the Maxwell Family Trust, Ohio University Department of Geography and Institute for Local Government and Regional Development, Rural Action Sustainable Forestry, Southern Local School District/Miller High School, SPICYAM, Sunday Creek Watershed Group, SPUR, Wayne National Forest, OSU Extension Cooperative Education Watershed, ODNR Division of Forestry, Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Hill Country Heritage Area and Perry and Athens County Litter Prevention and Recycling Programs.

Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, “Franklin SWCD Storm Drain Model Project,” $16,789.00,” Franklin County, Audience: General Public, #06G-061, Contact: Nora Hiland, nora-hiland@, 614-486-9613.

Creates a storm drain model and accompanying materials about best management practices that can be used at public events and local trainings of small business owners. The model will have running water and interchangeable backdrops to illustrate residential and commercial activities and show the connection between run-off down storm drains and water quality in local streams.

Miami University, Hefner Zoology Museum, “The GREEN Teachers Institute: Museum Resources for Teachers”, $33,172.00, Butler, Clermont, and Hamilton Counties, Audience: Pre-School – University (Pre-School), #06G-063, Contact: Dr. Donald Kaufman, kaufmadg@muohio.edu, 513-529-4617.

Adds a new early-childhood component and a second session to a successful series of summer workshops for K-8 teachers that has won several Outstanding Project awards from the OEEF. Workshops and follow-up sessions during the academic year focus on using natural history and science resources to offer hands-on, inquiry-based student activities in non-classroom settings. Collaborators include the Clermont Educational Service Center, Mason City Schools, Hamilton City Schools, and Talawanda City Schools.

Cleveland Public Art, “WindWorks,” $41,415.00,” Cuyahoga County, Audience: General Public, #06G-068, Contact: Greg Peckham, gpeckham@, 216-621-5330

Provides an outdoor wind turbine exhibit at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, to educate the general public about the connection between their daily, everyday energy choices and the possibility of a more sustainable future of wind power for the region. Two pedestrian pathways will trace the shadow of the wind turbine on the day of the equinox, and bench sculptures at the base of the turbine will illustrate how the wind turbine could power everyday objects such as televisions and light bulbs for one hour. Collaborators include the Great Lakes Science Center.

Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, Community Ecology Awareness and Action, $30,234.00, Cuyahoga County, Audience: General Public, #07G-003, Contact: Carol Marshall, marshall@

Provides adult education classes, printed materials and service learning projects for at least 300 residents of the Doan Brook watershed, a diverse and densely-populated urban area that directly impacts Lake Erie. Project will focus on the effect environmental waste and polluted runoff have on the land and the water, and steps residents can take to help restore and preserve the ecosystem. Topics will include Laudable Lawns, rain barrel construction, invasive and native plants, sustainable landscaping, geology of the watershed, bird banding, and water quality monitoring. Collaborators include the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership and The Plant Manager.

The Summit/Akron Solid Waste Management Authority, Making Recycling Work Through Environmental Awareness, $29,037.00, Summit County, Audience: General Public, 07G-006, Contact: Jenny Markovich, jmarkovich@

Supports a multi-faceted city-wide public awareness campaign targeting 27,362 residents of the city of Barberton, in an effort to raise residential recycling rates and tonnages collected from less than 7% to more than 10%. Campaign will include a recycling drop-off center demonstration project in a multi-unit low-income housing complex, community-specific brochures, utility bill inserts, a traveling exhibit, and incentive programs, supported and reinforced by ongoing school programs. Collaborators include the City of Barberton, Barberton Schools, and the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority.

Western Reserve Land Conservancy Firelands Chapter, Vermilion River Watershed Educational Book, $49,825.00, Ashland, Erie, Huron, Lorain Counties, Audience: General Public, #007G-007. Contact: Mary Garvin, mary.garvin@oberlin.edu .

As part of the public education effort recommended in the “Total Maximum Daily Loads for the Vermillion River Watershed” report, the collaborators will develop and distribute a color booklet targeting residents, property owners, township governments and recreational users of the river. A series of presentations using the booklet will seek to build community support for seeking re-designation of the river to scenic status, to accord it the highest possible level of protection. Contents will include the watershed’s distinctive geology, local flora and fauna, water quality, history, recreational uses, and actions residents and local communities can take to protect the water resource. Project features extensive collaboration with Audubon Ohio, Erie Soil and Water Conservation District, Friends of the Vermillion River Watershed, Huron Soil and Water Conservation District, Lorain County Metro Parks, Lorain Soil and Water Conservation District, Oberlin College, Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Natural Areas and Preserves and Coastal Training Program, Ohio State University Extension, The Farmland Center, and The Nature Conservancy.

Hiram College, Primary Headwater Habitat Multi-media Training Modules, $46,044.00 Statewide, Audience: General Public, #07G-012. Contact: Dennis Taylor, taylordj@hiram.edu .

Develops a multi-media training curriculum to educate the general public, environmental consultants, the academic community and regulated entities on the use of Primary Headwater Habitat (PHWH) assessment protocols and the proper interpretation of assessment data. Demand for this type of training is anticipated due to changes in rules regarding use designations, 401 Water Quality Certifications, credible data collector training requirements and other regulatory applications of the PHWH classification system. Interactive online modules will include PHWH Basics, the Headwater Habitat Evaluation Index, Biological Evaluation of Methods using Invertebrates and Vertebrates, and an introduction to the data management and reporting system under development at Ohio EPA. Courseware will incorporate slideshows, online quizzes and tests, videos and podcasts, and materials will be coordinated with the manual and field test provided by Ohio EPA. The training course will be made available on the Ohio EPA Web site and by distribution of DVDs for use on personal computers. Ohio EPA’s Division of Surface Water is collaborating.

Ohio Compost Association, Measurement Methodology and Training for Regulated Compost Facilities, $50,000.00, Statewide, Audience: Regulated Community, #07G-018, Contact: James Skora, jskora@

Over 400 regulated compost facilities must report annually to Ohio EPA on the amount of waste received and compost produced. Reporting has been inconsistent with a wide variety of reported data that has conflicted with other survey efforts from solid waste management districts. Guidance on measurement is particularly needed by smaller facilities that do not have scales. This project will develop and disseminate a consistent statewide methodology for estimating different types of yard waste, and provide written guidance and five regional training sessions on measurement as well as proper sampling of compost and leachate according to regulatory requirements. Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and GT Environmental are collaborating.

Ohio University Southern Nature Center, On the Cutting Edge: Teaching-N-Tomorrow, $48,016.00, Adams, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, and Scioto Counties,

Audience: Pre-Kindergarten – University (K-12), #07G-034, Contact: Robert Culp, culpr@ohio.edu

Provides four-day professional development workshops for 60 teachers to improve science teaching in alignment with state standards, to encourage teaching in an outdoor setting, and to develop and disseminate lesson plans and activities using an environmental issue or topic specific to southeastern Ohio. The summer workshops in 2007 and 2008 will focus on chemistry in grades K-3, geology in grades 4-8, and plant ecology and botany in grades 9-12. Lessons developed by the teachers will be field-tested with visiting students, then posted on the OUS teacher Website. Lessons will be evaluated in terms of relevance to Ohio environmental topics, correlation with content standards, creativity and age appropriateness. Collaborators include eight participating school districts, the Lawrence Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Wayne National Forest.

Great Lakes Environmental Finance Center, NPDES Phase II Implementing Training and Assistance, $39,270.00, Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, and Summit Counties, Audience: Regulated Community, #07G-037, Contact: Claudette Robey, crobey@urban.csuohio.edu

Provides training for local officials on NPDES Phase II requirements on small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), to help them comply with permit and storm water management requirements. Program includes practical, hands-on tools for municipal employees to implement pollution prevention and good housekeeping practices, as well as illicit discharge detection and elimination programs. Another component will train contractors, construction site inspectors and local officials on proper installation, maintenance, and inspection of sediment and erosion controls at construction sites. A third component offers training for developers and engineers on design and implementation of post-construction storm water quality controls. The Center is a partnership between US EPA and Cleveland State University’s College of Urban Affairs. Bramhall Engineering is collaborating.

Mill Creek Restoration Project, “Integrating Cultural History and a Heightened Sense of Place with Community-based Approaches to Public Storm Water Education, Urban River Regeneration and Neighborhood Revitalization,” $50,000.00, Hamilton County, Audience: General Public, #F07G-039, Contact: Robin Corathers robin@

Seeks to involve residents of two low income Environmental Justice neighborhoods within the Mill Creek floodplain in Cincinnati in efforts to restore and protect the Creek. Educational opportunities will include neighborhood meetings, workshops on topics selected by the residents, Mill Creek driving and walking tours, water quality presentations by local environmental and public health officials, tree plantings and other hands-on activities for 100 neighborhood volunteers at storm water demonstration sites to show erosion and runoff controls. Volunteers will also plant native species for wildlife habitat, and install educational signs at Underground Railroad landmarks in the Mill Creek Greenway. Collaborators include the Northside Community Council, North Fairmount Community Center, Gardens at Village Green, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and Paul Hemmer Companies/Sand Run Nursery.

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For more information, contact:

Ohio EPA, Office of Environmental Education

P.O. Box 1049

Columbus, OH 43216-1049

Phone: 614/644-2873

Fax: 614/728-1275

Email: oeef@epa.state.oh.us

Web: epa.state.oh.us/oeef/

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