Partners for Clean Streams

Toledo, Ohio

Water touches every part of our lives. From jumping in the lake on a hot summer day to taking a shower, water is our lifeline. Just like water affects us daily, our daily habits affect our water. The surrounding waterways of the greater Toledo, Ohio, area aren’t just for recreation—those waterways supply the drinking water. That’s why Partners for Clean Streams (PCS) believes its work is so important. PCS’s mission is to help community members develop “stewardship habits.” These are daily habits that protect water quality. PCS carries out its work with dedicated volunteers, who are shown appreciation with reusable gifts that help keep local water clean, clear and safe. Making involvement personal Female volunteer holding reusable water bottle. PCS’s strategy is to get volunteers personally involved in taking care of local water. As part of the Clean Your Streams program, volunteers walk along the waterway picking up trash alongside, or sometimes in, the waterways. Another program removes fishing lines left by thousands of anglers who visit the Lake Erie area every year. PCS volunteers gather fishing lines once fishing season is over. The organization has also stocked the Maumee River area with recycling bins, so people have an easy, sustainable place to discard their broken fishing lines. Recreational areas aren’t the only places that benefit from PCS volunteer efforts. Storm Drain Marking involves volunteers writing inspiring messages along the storm drain. Messages like “Drains are for Rain” and “Flows to Waterway” discourage people from putting trash down the drain. Little habits make a big difference To help make sustainable habits easier, PCS gives each volunteer reusable gifts that help change daily habits. Thanks to a 4imprint one by one grant, every volunteer gets to take home a metal straw and branded metal water bottle. “The metal straws and water bottles help our volunteers adopt good habits in their everyday life and continue to do things that keeps our water healthy, even when they’re not working with us. We’re very appreciative of 4imprint’s grant, as it let us purchase way more items than we otherwise could have,” Executive Director Kristina Patterson said.

For more information about Partners for Clean Streams, please visit https://partnersforcleanstreams.org/ opens in new window