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Defiance, OH
Why We Are Here: Earth Force’s long standing partnership with General Motors prompted the GREEN program’s establishment in Defiance, a small community one hour southwest of Toledo. Defiance is located along the Maumee River, which has the largest watershed of any Great Lakes river draining 6,354 square miles. Lake Erie water quality issues include record amounts of blue-green algae as well as sediment and nutrients, and long-term water quality monitoring has identified the Maumee River as being the largest single contributor of non-point source pollution to the lake. The Maumee River region has both agricultural and industrial land uses, so the GREEN program is working to educate students on the root causes of water pollution. The GREEN program helps address real community needs in Defiance by introducing young people to water resources and water quality issues and to exciting new careers in environmental fields through the mentoring role of GM employees and other community partners.
Demographics: Defiance County: Defiance City School District - 46% of all students served are receiving free/reduced lunch 10.7% of families were below poverty level throughout Defiance County. According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the racial composition of Defiance County was: • White: 93.89% • Black or African American: 1.55% • Native American: 0.49% • Asian: 0.25% • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.00% • Some other race: 1.78% • Two or more races: 2.05% • Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 41.60% Source: American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau. "Defiance County, Ohio - ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2006-2008". Factfinder.census.gov. link. Retrieved 2010.
What We Are Doing: Every May, Defiance Elementary fifth graders, GM Pow¬ertrain water treatment staff, and the Defiance, Fulton, and Williams Counties’ Soil and Water Conservation Districts’ Education Specialists visit the Boy Scout Camp Lakota to investigate the water quality of Powel Creek. They test for the levels of nitrates, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity and identify the types of macro-invertebrates that live in the creek. When entering the 6th grade, students have another opportunity for watershed action by joining GM mentors and Soil and Water Conservation District naturalists at the historic AuGlaize Village in September to tour water quality and ecology stations. Students learn about pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen as it relates to the agricultural land uses nearby. Mentors Todd Rouse, Carl Schroeder and Chuck Renn also put on an Earth Day event at the GM facility, including tours of the nearby water treatment facility. Through partnerships with the Defiance Soil and Water Conservation and General, GREEN works with youth to explore causes of watershed issues – mainly sedimentation and agricultural runoff.
Earth Force History in this Community: GREEN began in Defiance through a long-term relationship with General Motors, and Earth Force has worked here to establish a sustainable water monitoring program with the Defiance County School District. In 2010, we began conversations with service-learning partners at Defiance College to coordinate with a college level monitoring program called GLISTEN (Great Lakes Innovative Stewardship Through Education Network). Number of Youth: 350 Number of Educators: 18 Participating Partners: Defiance Soil and Water Conservation District - http://www.defiance-county.com/swcd/index.html General Motors – www.gm.com GLISTEN - http://www.ncsce.net/Initiatives/GLISTEN.cfm
Participating School Districts: Defiance County School Districts: Ayersville Local School District - http://www.ayersville.org/ Central Local School District - http://www.centrallocal.org/fv/ Defiance City School District - http://www.defiancecityschools.org/ Hicksville Exempted Village School District - http://www.hicksvilleschools.org/ Northeastern Local School District - http://www.tinora.k12.oh.us/
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Defiance, OH Calendar
