Cleveland’s Office of Sustainability Provides Hands On Experience for Teens
This summer 14- to 17-year-old youths are working on two projects for the Cleveland Office of Sustainability through Mayor Frank G. Jackson’s 2008 Cleveland Summer Youth Program. The office is housed in the Department of Public Utilities which has joined with the non-profit organization Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) to offer teenagers work experience in the public sector.
The sustainability office is collaborating with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and Neighborhood Progress, Inc. to teach the youths how to construct, deliver and install 280 rain barrels in nine city neighborhoods and create four rain gardens on city property. Both projects have been financed by a sewer district grant to help decrease the amount of stormwater entering drains.
Decreasing stormwater is important since 90 percent of the sewers in the City of Cleveland are combined sewers. The combined sewer system is challenging because when the city experiences heavy rains, the sewage treatment plants cannot handle the extra volume of stormwater. The systems were designed with overflow mechanisms that dump untreated sewage water directly into our rivers and lakes. By minimizing the amount of stormwater that enters the sewers, we can have a huge impact on the amount of overflow and prevent raw sewage from entering our waterways.
Rain Barrels
The rain barrel being installed is a large plastic container that connects to a downspout from a roof and has a spigot at the bottom to which a hose can be attached. While the collected water cannot be used for drinking, the water can be used to irrigate lawns and gardens, benefiting property owners by decreasing their water bill. Collecting water in a barrel also decreases the amount of rain that enters our sewage treatment facilities, which if overflowed will send untreated sewage into Lake Erie.
In an effort to educate community members, the Office of Sustainability held public meetings in the city neighborhoods to discuss the rain barrel program and the benefits of rain barrel usage. Community development corporations throughout the city are also helping to market the rain barrel project. More than 60 teenagers will construct 280 barrels for residents and install them on each property.
Rain Gardens
Teenagers participating in the Y.O.U. program are also constructing four rain gardens on city property. The Office of Sustainability has organized rain gardens to be installed in Kerruish Park, Willard Park on E. 9th Street and in the Buckeye Neighborhood. Jim McKnight, of Parkworks and McKnight Associates, has created landscape plans for each site, using native and water-tolerant plants and rock material to drain stormwater from impermeable surfaces into the soil. The Natural History Museum, the City of Cleveland Parks and Recreation Department, and the Division of Research, Planning and Development have also provided valuable input and support for the projects.
The youths started on their first rain garden in June at Morgana Run in Slavic Village, near a bike path behind Aldi’s in the Broadway Shoppes plaza. They managed to turn a pre-existing garden from disrepair to delight in only eight days. They had to clean up the area, dig large garden beds into shale and hard soil, and move hundreds of rocks to prepare the area for a specially mixed soil for rain gardens. This particular garden has River Birch and Dogwood Trees, Red Switch grasses, and perennials such as iris, Black-Eyed Susan and geraniums. It will surely be a beautiful garden for the neighborhood to enjoy.
For more information, contact Fran DiDonato at 216-664-2444, ext. 5587 or Victoria Bredt at 216-664-2444, ext. 5577.
August/September 2008 Contents