ServeOhio Make a Difference Day Volunteer Day Grant
Make A Difference Day is the largest national day of volunteering to meet community needs. TCWP received a grant for $1,000 and partnered with the Cleveland Metroparks to help transition the recently acquired Astorhurst Golf Course from golf course to park. Volunteers helped remove shade structures, tee posts, split rail fencing, cleaned up debris, and dug post holes and set posts for receptacles. Make A Difference Day, which takes place on the 4th Saturday in October, is held in partnership with Points of Light and corporate sponsors.
Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio Annual Grant
TCWP Received one of two $500 grants awarded from the Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio. TCWP plans to use the grant to purchase plants for the new rain garden that will be installed in the lawn at our new offices behind Twinsburg city hall. We will also have an interpretive educational component to our rain garden and plan to hold workshops about native plants and rain gardens.
Dominion Watershed Mini Grant
TCWP received a generous $2,500 grant to purchase supplies needed to continue monitoring the water quality of Tinker’s Creek watershed. On Oct. 3, Dominion Energy and the nonprofit Western Reserve Land Conservancy awarded $37,500 in grant funding to 17 Ohio watershed groups. The Watershed Mini Grant Award Ceremony & Healthy Watershed Summit took place at the Land Conservancy’s Conservation Center. Dominion Energy and Western Reserve Land Conservancy launched the Watershed Mini Grant Program in 2015 to serve organizations working to protect and improve land around rivers, lakes and streams throughout Ohio. Since the program’s inception in 2015, more than $142,000 has been awarded to 38 different watershed groups across the state.
EarthEcho Water Quality Test Kits
EarthEcho International, the environmental education and youth leadership organization founded by explorer and environmental advocate Philippe Cousteau Jr., is helping support the efforts of Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners (TCWP) to empower the next generation of water scientists and stewards with a donation of water quality test kits through the EarthEcho Water Challenge. These test kits will enable young people working with TCWP to sample the waters of the Tinker’s Creek watershed for a core set of water quality parameters including temperature, pH (acidity), turbidity (clarity) and dissolved oxygen (DO).
Great Lakes Restoration Grant from Ohio EPA
Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners (TCWP) has been awarded a $191,500 Great Lakes Restoration grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the United State Environmental Protection Agency. Funds will be used to restore instream habitat to a historically channelized portion of Tinker’s Creek, plant native species along its banks, remove invasive species, and restore natural flow.
Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) Service Agreement
NEORSD has entered into contract with TCWP in the amount of $40,000 to support stormwater and water quality efforts in the watershed communities. A portion of this service agreement will provide funding for the watershed coordinator and other contracted positions that helped TCWP serve our communities. This service agreement will also help fund educational outreach to public officials and collaboration efforts to conserve important land parcels.