Students from SUNY-ESF and Syracuse University help Save the Rain build more environment-friendly projects in the community.
Environmentally friendly projects continue to pop up all over the city of Syracuse after the creation of the Save the Rain program by County Executive Joannie Mahoney in 2009. Ryan Roberts, a SUNY-ESF conservation biology major, is a big proponent of these green infrastructure techniques because of their environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits.
Stop by the "Save the Rain" program Saturday, Sept. 22 to learn about the Onondaga Lake cleanup and other sustainability efforts around Syracuse.
Rain or shine, “Save the Rain,” a program dedicated to reducing pollution in Onondaga Lake, will host the 2012 Clean Water Fair this Saturday, Sept. 22 from 9 a.m.—2 p.m. at the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant. The fair will update visitors on “Save the Rain” projects.
The Save the Rain program has set up 51 projects so far in 2011 to capture stormwater across the city as part of their Project 50 initiative.
During the Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection open house Saturday, Save the Rain’s program team announced the success of Project 50. Presented last March by County Executive Joanie Mahoney, this ambitious plan set the goal of constructing 50 green infrastructure projects before the end of 2011.
The “Save the Rain” campaign joins the clean-up effort to stop the flow of sewage into Onondaga Lake.
Chris Gandino grabbed a quillback from out of a tank, slipped his finger between its lips and peered into the fish’s mouth. “I’m checking him for tumors and lesions,” Gandino said as the fish flopped from side to side in his hand.
Gandino, who has worked at Onondaga County fisheries since 1987, sees fewer lesions these days.