Watershed Walk to Shed Light on Delaware Run 

DELAWARE, Ohio (August 21, 2018) – The Boardman Arts Park and the Central Ohio Communities Project (COCP) are hosting a Watershed Walk along Delaware Run September 23 from 1:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Delaware Run is one of the largest tributaries in Delaware County, consisting of two-percent of the county’s drainage. Its watershed drains 6,485 acres of agricultural land near the headwaters north of the city of Delaware and flows through urban, industrial and suburban land closer to the confluence with the Olentangy River just north of Selby Stadium on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University.

Mostly hidden and invisible, Delaware Run weaves itself through the fabric of the city and is often overlooked. The walk will shed light on this important natural resource. Participants can choose to do a deep exploration of the run or shorter jaunts along its course. Walks will be from 40-90 minutes in duration dependent on the length of the walk and areas explored. The walks will take place from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. and will start at OWU’s Selby Stadium (90-minute walk) or at the Hidden Valley Golf Course (40-minute walk). Local scientists and experts will lead the walks and will explore the history, ecology and geologic features of the stream scavenger hunt style. Water quality testing and a stream clean-up will also be done on both walks.

It is encouraged to carpool, drive electric vehicles, ride bicycles or use some other form of alternative ‘green’ transportation to get to the event.

Boardman Arts Park and COCP are hosting the walk to create awareness to the current state or our local streams and the potential for improvement. Delaware Run is heavily channelized and is completely buried as it winds its way through the city. The case has been made on multiple occasions that it would be advantageous to the city to daylight Delaware Run. Daylighting is the process of restoring a stream of water to a more natural state resulting in a healthier and more vibrant community, education opportunities and improved water quality.

Following the walks, there will be family activities, light refreshments, green arts and crafts, watershed bingo and other games, a community watershed mural project, a green resource fair, gnome-building, rock-stacking contests, an “Earth Dance” and the event will wrap up with a free concert by The Rivermen.

For an agenda and further details, see the Watershed Walk – Poster here.

Go to https://bit.ly/2MuayZt to register.

For more information, contact: Terry Hermsen at THermsen@otterbein.edu  or Roxanne Amidon at nna@delawarenna.org.