Rain Barrel Art Gala and Raffle

Save the Rain Downtown Walking Tour: POSTPONED

Save the Rain Downtown Bike Tour

Rescheduled from October:

Save the Rain: Rain Barrel Painting Contest

Join Save the Rain for a Downtown Bike Tour

Join Us During Your Lunch Break for a Downtown Walking Tour

Save the Rain: Come to a Rain Garden Workshop

Highlights include: An overview of rain garden creation, a walking tour of established rain gardens and a chance to get your hands dirty and go home with a rain garden plant or two. A handful of lucky folks will also have the opportunity to obtain assistance in assessing their yard for a rain garden.

Save the Date! Clean Water Fair Sept. 7

Upcoming Rain Barrel Workshop

Save the Rain: Rain Barrel Workshop for Clay Homeowners

Save the Rain is Looking for a Few Good Roofs

Ever wonder about all the green roofs going on buildings throughout Syracuse?  Or whether a green roof might be possible on your property?  Then consider having your house, shed, porch or garage be the focus of a design workshop for an interdisciplinary team of landscape architects, building architects, and engineers.  Interested Onondaga County homeowners should fill out the preliminary application.  In it you will find questions ranging from why you want a green roof to those concerning the physical features of your roof and property.  Up to six sites will be selected for a more detailed feasibility analysis including a site visit and three of the six will be selected to be included in the design workshop.  Selected homes will receive a set of conceptual designs that can be used as a starting point for creating an interesting, functional green roof.

Please contact Amy Samuels of Onondaga Environmental Institute with any questions; 443-1757 or asamuels (at) oei2.org.  This project is sponsored by the Onondaga County Save the Rain program and the Green Roof Working Group.

Save the Rain Upcoming Events

Save the Rain Community Meetings

Rain Barrel Workshops at the Save the Rain Clean Water Fair

August 15 Rain Barrel Workshop

Save the Rain Workshops

Monday, June 18th: Watershed Community Connections

Please join us!

For more information, visit: (315) 472-2150 or www.onlakepartners.org/community

Save the Date! June 18th Public Meeting

More Rain Barrel Workshops!

Residents of the City of Syracuse: don't miss more opportunities to get a rain barrel from Onondaga County!

Rain Barrel Workshop

Beauchamp Branch Library, 2111 S. Salina St | May 24, 2012 

 

Rain barrels are an excellent tool for catching free water to use on your flower garden, or for clean-up projects around your yard. On May 24 from 5:30-7:15PM come to a rain barrel workshop sponsored by Onondaga County's Save the Rain program at the Mundy Branch library. Join educators from Onondaga Environmental Institute to learn how to properly install and maintain a rain barrel. All city residents who attend the workshop are eligible to receive a free rain barrel. Space is limited. To guarantee your spot, please call Amy at 443-1757 or e-mail asamuels@oei2.org. To request Spanish language translation services for the workshop, contact Laura Cardoso at 443-3507 or lcardoso@syr.edu. 

"Paint Your Barrel" Rain Barrel Workshops

Westcott Community Center, 826 Euclid Ave | June 3, 2012
Art on the Porches on Ruskin Ave | June 16, 2012 

 

• Learn how you can use a rain barrel to help "Save the Rain" and keep our water clean.
• Use what you catch for your flower garden or clean-up projects around your yard!
• You will have an opportunity to paint your barrel if you would like!

All are welcome to come to a workshop and learn about rain barrels. Workshops will take place at 12:15, 1:15, 2:15 and 3:15 on June 3 at the Westcott Community Center, and at 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 at Art on the Porches. Residents of the city of Syracuse are eligible to receive a free rain barrel. Space is limited!  RSVP by contacting Amy Samuels at 443-1757 or e-mail asamuels@oei2.org.

Learn how you can protect the Onondaga Lake watershed from phosphorous pollution!

As we welcome the return of warm weather, many of us are turning to lawn maintenance. Did you know that what you do on your lawn can impact the rest of the watershed? Chemical fertilizers and pesticides ultimately make their way into the streams through stormwater runoff, and they build up in Onondaga Lake. 

Phosphorous, a nutrient found in lawn fertilizer, causes serious problems when it builds up to high concentrations in waterways. Today there are over 70 waterbodies in New York State that are suffering from phosphorous pollution. High levels of phosphorous cause algae blooms that damage water quality and lower the amount of dissolved oxygen available to fish and other aquatic organisms. Phosphorous pollution also negatively affects drinking water supplies, local recreation, and tourism. It is expensive to remove phosphorous from stormwater, so it’s really important to prevent pollution in the first place.

This year, a new state law went into effect to protect our waterways from excessive phosphorous pollution by setting limits on fertilizer use. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), “Under the new provisions of the law, the use of phosphorus fertilizer on lawns or non-agricultural turf is restricted.  Only lawn fertilizer with less than 0.67 percent by weight phosphate content may be applied legally. Application of any fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium on lawns or non-agricultural turf is prohibited between December 1 and April 1. Application of any fertilizer on lawns or non-agricultural turf within 20 feet of a water body or on paved surfaces is restricted.  Retailers must display phosphorus fertilizer separately from phosphorus-free fertilizer and must post signs notifying customers of the terms of the law.” 

For more information about the new law and how you can help protect our watershed from phosphorous pollution, visit the DEC’s website: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/67239.html