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Hundreds celebrate the Mahoning, learn green lessons
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
Nearly everyone who discovers an oil leak under their car will try to get the problem rectified as quickly as possible.
But what happens if the oil is left on the driveway or in the parking lot? Phillip Boran can tell you.
“The smaller things we don’t think about affect our lives,” said Boran, a Youngstown State University chemistry major. “Hopefully kids can see this as a good opportunity for what they can do to prevent more pollution.”
Boran was referring to a three- dimensional model depicting hypothetical farmland, urban and rural settings onto which he applied food coloring and sprayed water to show how motor oil and other products can mix with runoff water. The result?: Pollutants deposited in lakes, streams and rivers.
Boran’s demonstration was part of Saturday’s Friends of the Mahoning River’s second annual Mahoning Riverfest gathering at the B&O Station Banquet Hall, 530 Mahoning Ave., downtown.
The four-hour event showcased the Mahoning River and promoted more environmentally friendly and green practices, organizers said. Its main sponsor was Vallourec Star (formerly V&M Star).
Boran also is a member of YSU’s Youngstown Environmental Sustainability Society, a club that advocates for clean rivers and more sound environmental practices.
Assisting Boran with the effort was Sarah Perrine, YESS president.
An estimated 32 vendors, including the Sierra Club, the Alliance for Watershed Action & Resource Education, ReCreate YSU, the Mahoning County Green Team and the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., participated in the fest.
Storm drains are a major conduit for sediment and pollutants to reach waterways, so it’s vital that people wash their vehicles with biodegradable soap and properly apply lawn materials, for example, noted Sean Giblin, an intern with the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office.
“It’s basically everything you do on your lawn and driveway,” he said.
A problem in Youngstown is that the sanitary and sewer systems are tied in to a single main line that carries material to the city’s waste treatment plant, Giblin noted. Heavy rainfall and combined sewer overflow often result in a greater amount of raw sewage finding its way to bodies of water, he continued, adding that people can exacerbate the problem.
“Don’t dump sediment down storm drains. It will pollute the river and eventually wash into waterways,” he advised.
The city has about 160 outfalls, which are publicly owned discharges into natural waterways, to protect the treatment plant, Giblin explained.
Many people who don’t remember the vibrant steel mills that once lined the Mahoning River received visual reminders, thanks to Nancy Brundage, the Audubon Society of the Mahoning Valley’s vice president.
Brundage found collages of photographs showing the river during the 19th and 20th centuries. Several taken in the 1950s and 1960s show a network of smokestacks and mills paralleling the river.
She also had tips for attracting bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators to gardens. Those include having flowers with a variety of colors and shapes; selecting plants that flower at different times throughout the growing season; and planting in clusters instead of settling for single plants and shrubs.
Another part of the festivities was a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the restoration a few weeks ago of a ramp and 52-foot dock, which will be used for kayaks and canoes on the Mahoning River.
Spearheading the effort was Chuck Miller, a member of Trumbull Canoe Trails and Friends of the Mahoning River.
The fest also featured fresh fruits and vegetables for sale, educational and historical presentations and displays and a table containing a series of animal pelts.