
OUR LATEST NEWSLETTER – SEPTEMBER 2023
See all that our wonderful volunteers accomplished last month, and what projects are coming up this month!
FLOW IS WORKING WITH CENTRAL OHIO ARTISTS TO TURN STORM DRAINS INTO PUBLIC ART IN THE SHORT NORTH!
After a very successful storm drain art project in the OSU campus area, FLOW is planning a similar project in Columbus’ Short North area to continue raising awareness about how everything that goes in the storm drain goes right into the river.
Ten local artists will be chosen to paint storm drains in the Short North area on October 7 (rain date October 8). We were amazed by the beautiful artwork created by our first round of artists and look forward to seeing even more talented submissions for our second round of storm drain art!
Follow us on Instagram, @FlowColumbus and Facebook, Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed for updates.
Columbus Storm Drain Art Project Walking Tour – OSU campus area
Did you miss a FLOW webinar? Our webinars are recorded and available on our YouTube channel.
The Olentangy Gap Trail Alignment 2 has been selected by Columbus Recreation and Parks
The City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department has picked Alignment 2 for the Olentangy Trail "Gap" between Clinton Como Park and Northmoor Park. Per our Capstone Team's assessment, this was the least environmentally impactful alignment. We will be losing...
Wildlife Habitat Creation for a Healthier Watershed
This is a section of a five-part series produced by FLOW to educate residents about backyard conservation. In the past thirty years, there has been a 90% increase in urban development in Ohio. This pattern is continuing - in the next thirty years, the Olentangy...
Reducing Pollution for a Healthier Watershed
This is a section of a five-part series produced by FLOW to educate residents about backyard conservation. When you imagine water pollution, what do you see? Factories pumping out sludge into rivers? A plastic island? Giant fishing boats throwing their nets...
Reducing Stormwater Runoff for a Healthier Watershed
This is a section of a five-part series produced by FLOW to educate residents about backyard conservation. Seemingly inconspicuous, stormwater runoff is one of the biggest threats facing waterways. Accounting for an estimated 70% of all water pollution, stormwater...
Composting for a Healthier Watershed
This is a section of a five-part series produced by FLOW to educate residents about backyard conservation. The farm-to-table food stream often ends up flowing to a landfill. 40% of food in the United States is never eaten. In 2010, $161 billion worth of food was...
Lawn Care for a Healthier Watershed
This is a section of a five-part series produced by FLOW to educate residents about backyard conservation. Lawn is pervasive in the American landscape. There are an estimated 40 million acres of lawns across the country, making “lawn” the largest irrigated crop in...
Plant some late blooming “secret flowers”
Join SER (Society for Ecological Restoration) to search for secret flowers! Late-blooming flowering plants like asters, goldenrods, bonesets, and white snakeroot are hiding in your yard and other places around the city. They look like "weeds" all summer, but in the...
Neonics: What They Are and Why You Should Avoid Them
Neonicotiniods, also referred to as neonics, were developed in the 1980s and soon became the most used insecticide in the world. Their popularity spread in part because manufacturers advertised them as “safer” insecticides. By some definitions, this is true. Neonics...
Garlic Mustard: A Destructive Yet Delectable Invasive
What is it? You probably know garlic mustard even if you don’t know you know it. Odds are, it has invaded forest areas near you as it has much of the midwest. Garlic mustard, Jack-In-the-Bush, or Alliaria petiolata is a non-native understory invasive plant in North...
EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED – video tells FLOW’s story
Thanks to a very generous gift from one of our supporters, FLOW would like to share this video of the Olentangy Watershed and what we can accomplish if we all work together to improve our greenspaces. There is a lot of pressure on our waterways but we can combat impacts if we work in the spaces we control to reduce our 40% turf grass, remove invasive species, plant native herbaceous and woody species and clean up litter. To learn more about what you can do, please see our Greenspace Implementation report.