Stream Cleanup Yields Snapshot of Society
By TOWN AND COUNTRY GERALD MAHAN
Cleaning up a stream tells a lot about what we value. On June 6, several students and teachers from Xenia Christian High School worked to clean up a section of Shawnee Creek between Church Street and Towler Road in Xenia.
Items pulled from the stream included bicycles, a play slide, pieces of aluminum, carpet, tires, and much more. All were collected with the help of the city of Xenia which provided the truck.
This stream cleanup was the culmination of stream monitoring activities by the students. Water samples were collected twice each month from the Xenia Christian High School campus and the area of Shawnee Creek near James Ranch.
The water was tested for nitrates, phosphorus, total dissolved solids, suspended solids and CBOD 5. In addition, information was collected on rainfall in the watershed, water and air temperature, pH and turbidity.
The purpose of the ongoing program is to collect data on the water in the stream and relate land use around the stream to the data. Students under the leadership of Andy Brads and Van Holloway have been collecting data in the stream since 2001.
Providing help to this program is the Greene County Water Quality Awareness Committee comprised of Bob Baird, manager of Greene County Waste Water Treatment; Jill O’Banion, education specialist with Greene Soil and Water Conservation District; Bill Dorsch, and Jerry Mahan, Extension educator. Also assisting with the CBOD 5 and suspended solids test was the Greene County Water Lab.
Teachers from other high schools in Greene County who would like to participate or learn more about the program may contact Jerry Mahan c/o OSU Extension Greene County, 100 Fairground Road, Xenia, OH 45385.
Garden Jubilee
OSU Extension Clark County is opening the garden surrounding its office in Springfield on Aug 4 for your enjoyment. The day’s activities will run from 9 to 11 p.m. and include turfgrass plots, ornamental field trials (200 varieties of annuals), Early Settlers Garden, Butterfly Garden, Honey Bee Garden and a chance to get your garden questions answered by the “Plant Doctor.”
From Xenia take U.S. 68 north to I-70. Take I-70 east to Ohio 41 where you will turn left. Follow Ohio 41 to Prime Ohio Corporate Park. Turn right into the park and the Extension office is on your left at 4400 Gateway Blvd.
For more information, call (937) 328-4607.
Hay & Straw
In previous news columns I have highlighted how you can advertise hay or straw on our Web site at greene.osu.edu. Click on “Agriculture” and then on “Hay List.”
I would add if you regularly buy hay or straw, buy it now. Both will be in short supply and predicted to get higher. Hay production is short due to the cold April temperatures and lack of rainfall. Straw comes from wheat, which will be in short supply due to the shortness of the plants this year.
Japanese beetles
They are back! These insects have spent the last 10 months in the soil feeding on grass roots and at times other Japanese beetles. As they change from their grub worm stage they take on the brilliant metallic green color they have as they emerge from the soil.
They love to feed on some plants more than others. Some of their favorites include roses, grapes, linden trees, Japanese and Norway maple.
Control can be done with netting if the plant is small. Products like liquid Sevin, Malathion 50 or 57 or Orthenex will work as well.
Long-term control of this insect is difficult at best since they can fly long distances. Even if you use a grub control product like Merit or Grub-Ex you may prevent damage to the turf from root feeding but adults from neighboring property owners will fly in to feed on your roses etc.
We do not recommend Japanese beetle traps as they are like using honey for bees. You will get the insects from surrounding property as well as your own.
For more on this insect, log onto OhioLine.osu.edu. Click in “search” and type in “Japanese Beetles.”
Contact this columnist at (937) 372-9971 or mahan.2@osu.edu.
(c) 2007 Dayton Daily News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.