YOUNGSTOWN
Nearly everyone who discovers an oil leak under their car will try to get the problem rectified as quickly as possible.
But what happens if the oil is left on the driveway or in the parking lot? Phillip Boran can tell you.
“The smaller things we don’t think about affects our lives,” said Boran, a Youngstown State University chemistry major. “Hopefully kids can see this as a good opportunity for what they can do to prevent more pollution.”
Boran was referring to a three-dimensional model depicting hypothetical farmland, urban and rural settings onto which he applied food coloring and sprayed water to show how motor oil and other products can mix with runoff water. The result?: Pollutants deposited in lakes, streams and rivers.
Boran’s demonstration was part of Saturday’s Friends of the Mahoning River’s second annual Mahoning Riverfest gathering at the BO Station Banquet Hall, 530 Mahoning Ave., downtown.
The four-hour event was to showcase the Mahoning River and promote more environmentally friendly and green practices, organizers said. Its main sponsor was Vallourec Star (formerly VM Star).
Many people who don’t remember the vibrant steel mills that once lined the Mahoning River received visual reminders, thanks to Nancy Brundage, the Audubon Society of the Mahoning Valley’s vice president.
Brundage found collages of photographs showing the river during the 19th and 20th centuries. Several taken in the 1950s and 1960s show a network of smokestacks and mills paralleling the river.
She also had on hand tips for attracting bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators to people’s gardens.
Another part of the festivities was a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the restoration a few weeks ago of a ramp and 52-foot dock, which will be used for kayaks and canoes on the Mahoning River.
To read more on the event and see photos, see Sunday’s Vindicator or Vindy.com.
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