The Ohio Clean Marina Program is celebrating 20 years of promoting clean boating in the state of Ohio. A partnership among Ohio Sea Grant, the Lake Erie Marine Trade Association, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the program launched in 2004 to help marinas meet regulations and keep Ohio’s waterways clean, and has developed and grown to promote clean boating through a variety of education initiatives and programs.
“It’s truly a partnership, and it’s been a labor of love for a lot of people over the years,” says Sarah Orlando, Ohio Clean Marinas program manager. “The program acts as an environmental education and technical assistance initiative…Our function is to better communicate science and regulatory information to the public in an easy-to-understand way. It was an evolution over time, working together in partnership with industry, agencies, and universities.”
Ohio Clean Marina Program will celebrate its anniversary at the 9th Annual Ohio Marina Conference in March.
“We are one of the few statewide programs that focus on clean boating, and to me it’s just as important as safe boating outreach,” adds Orlando. “Absolutely, you need to recreate safely on Ohio’s waters, but being a responsible boater when it comes to the environment is just as important. If we pollute the water, we’re not going to have an environment to recreate in.”
To learn more, visit ohioseagrant.osu.edu/clean.
PHOTO: OHIO CLEAN MARINAS & CLEAN BOATERS PROGRAMS
