Aimee Bushman, Conservation Law Foundation’s Ocean Planning Outreach Manager, talked with Rob about the work of a diverse coalition of ocean stakeholders and partners, the New England Ocean Action Network (NEOAN). The Northeast Ocean Regional Planning Group is completing the nation’s first ocean management plan. The jewel in the crown of this ocean ecosystem-based management collaborative and very participatory effort is the massive Data Portal. Click here for Portal http://neoceanplanning.org/easy-access-to-ocean-data/
At Boston’s GreenFest we made dead fish out of paper, pipe cleaner, straws and beads.
First up, Elise Dovletoglou and Sara Trimble, ORI Summer Interns talked with Rob about the Sixth Annual GreenFest at Boston’s City Plaza. Children came to ORI’s table to create fish out of paper, pipe-cleaner, straws and beads. These dead fish were made in memory of the sixteen striped bass found dead on a Falmouth shore. The town blamed fertilizer off of lawns for causing algae to bloom that consumed the dissolved oxygen that killed the fish. Falmouth responded by reducing the spread of fertilizer from five pounds per thousand square feet per year to one pound. Three years later the grass is still green. People signed our letter to MA governor urging all 350 municipalities be permitted to spread one pound instead of the state standard of five pounds. Click here for letter: https://ori.wufoo.com/forms/wump7t81vqwggi/
GreenFest participants spent time choosing the most important yard actions to take for clean water. The data was analyzed back in the ORI office and we found a tie for yard action number two. The next preferred yard action was a distant fourth.
The Top Ten Yard Actions for Clean Water
Don’t fertilize lawn June 1- Sept 30th
Do not pour chemicals into storm drains
Do not use or limit use of pesticides
Pick up plastics on shorelines
Plant native plants (less thirsty for water)
Install rain barrels for watering plants
Wash car with bucket and soap, not a hose
Leave grass clippings on lawns
Use a brush to sweep driveways, not a hose
Provide containers with sand for cigarette butts
