Grand Lake Earth Day Set for April 21
The Grand Lake Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 21, brings an opportunity to have fun while learning about ongoing projects to reduce water pollution and beautify the environment.
Take guided tours of Bernice State Park and Lendonwood Botanical Gardens, paint with Oklahoma soils, board the Cherokee Queen paddlewheel riverboat, learn about healthy lawn practices, see some of the first rain gardens in Oklahoma, make water cycle bracelets, and much more. Activities are planned from 10 AM to 3 PM at five locations in and around Grove, OK, with headquarters at the Grand Lake Visitor Center.
The Grand Lake Earth Day Celebration is coordinated by the CLEAR GRAND project, a collaborative effort to reduce pollution in Grand Lake and its inflowing streams, headed by the Water Quality Division of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. “The first phase of our project involves pollution reduction in the areas right around Grand Lake,” says project coordinator, Kevin Gustavson. “We are putting in demonstration rain gardens to clean storm water runoff, testing nutrient levels in area lawns, and demonstrating healthy lawn practices that promote beautiful landscapes while reducing harm to the lake. We are also increasing lake and stream monitoring and getting the word out about new soil evaluation techniques to appropriately site and design septic systems.”
Grand Lake is particularly susceptible to near lake pollutants, such as fertilizer, because, unlike other lakes in Oklahoma, many lawns extend to the lake’s edge without a vegetated buffer to filter out pollutants. Fertilizers can increase algae growth in lakes, which can lead to declines in fish populations.
Some of the activities at the Earth Day Celebration will relate to the CLEAR GRAND collaborative project. Three of the event locations are demonstration rain garden sites. Rain gardens detain stormwater and use plants and specialized soils to filter the water before flowing into local streams and lakes. They can reduce the need for large flood control detention ponds, while also cleaning water and beautifying the environment. The designers from OSU Biosystems Engineering will be onsite to demonstrate this technology.
Dr. Hailin Zhang, OSU soil fertility expert, will offer tips to maximize the health of your lawn and gardens, while minimizing their impact on surrounding lakes and streams. He’ll even be giving away some phosphorus-free fertilizer and offering free soil tests to some folks with local property. Soil tests help you give your lawn and garden the exact nutrients they need to be healthy and can save you time and money on excess fertilizer.
Dr. Brian Carter, OSU Soil Science professor, will have a soil pit excavation to allow visitors to experience Oklahoma soils, learn about soil horizons, and see how soils naturally filter pollutants.
The Water Watch and Blue Thumb programs will be onsite demonstrating monitoring equipment and leading activities for family fun. The Grand River Dam Authority will have a boat onsite to show how to keep your boat clean of zebra mussels, preventing this invasive threat from spreading in Grand Lake.
Other collaborators will offer a number of activities that are geared for fun and environmental education for the whole family.
Events locations include: Headquarters at the Grand Lake Visitor Center (9630 Hwy 59 N) in Grove, Bernice State Park, Lendonwood Gardens, Cherokee Queen/Royal Bay Restaurant, and the Walmart Garden Center. Booklets will be available at all sites, showing times and places for all activities. For more information visit grandlakefun.com/cleargrand.
Take guided tours of Bernice State Park and Lendonwood Botanical Gardens, paint with Oklahoma soils, board the Cherokee Queen paddlewheel riverboat, learn about healthy lawn practices, see some of the first rain gardens in Oklahoma, make water cycle bracelets, and much more. Activities are planned from 10 AM to 3 PM at five locations in and around Grove, OK, with headquarters at the Grand Lake Visitor Center.
The Grand Lake Earth Day Celebration is coordinated by the CLEAR GRAND project, a collaborative effort to reduce pollution in Grand Lake and its inflowing streams, headed by the Water Quality Division of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. “The first phase of our project involves pollution reduction in the areas right around Grand Lake,” says project coordinator, Kevin Gustavson. “We are putting in demonstration rain gardens to clean storm water runoff, testing nutrient levels in area lawns, and demonstrating healthy lawn practices that promote beautiful landscapes while reducing harm to the lake. We are also increasing lake and stream monitoring and getting the word out about new soil evaluation techniques to appropriately site and design septic systems.”
Grand Lake is particularly susceptible to near lake pollutants, such as fertilizer, because, unlike other lakes in Oklahoma, many lawns extend to the lake’s edge without a vegetated buffer to filter out pollutants. Fertilizers can increase algae growth in lakes, which can lead to declines in fish populations.
Some of the activities at the Earth Day Celebration will relate to the CLEAR GRAND collaborative project. Three of the event locations are demonstration rain garden sites. Rain gardens detain stormwater and use plants and specialized soils to filter the water before flowing into local streams and lakes. They can reduce the need for large flood control detention ponds, while also cleaning water and beautifying the environment. The designers from OSU Biosystems Engineering will be onsite to demonstrate this technology.
Dr. Hailin Zhang, OSU soil fertility expert, will offer tips to maximize the health of your lawn and gardens, while minimizing their impact on surrounding lakes and streams. He’ll even be giving away some phosphorus-free fertilizer and offering free soil tests to some folks with local property. Soil tests help you give your lawn and garden the exact nutrients they need to be healthy and can save you time and money on excess fertilizer.
Dr. Brian Carter, OSU Soil Science professor, will have a soil pit excavation to allow visitors to experience Oklahoma soils, learn about soil horizons, and see how soils naturally filter pollutants.
The Water Watch and Blue Thumb programs will be onsite demonstrating monitoring equipment and leading activities for family fun. The Grand River Dam Authority will have a boat onsite to show how to keep your boat clean of zebra mussels, preventing this invasive threat from spreading in Grand Lake.
Other collaborators will offer a number of activities that are geared for fun and environmental education for the whole family.
Events locations include: Headquarters at the Grand Lake Visitor Center (9630 Hwy 59 N) in Grove, Bernice State Park, Lendonwood Gardens, Cherokee Queen/Royal Bay Restaurant, and the Walmart Garden Center. Booklets will be available at all sites, showing times and places for all activities. For more information visit grandlakefun.com/cleargrand.
posted by Editor | 2:20 AM
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