Doan Brook event

Learn about Doan Brook at event

An ice cream social, educational displays and presentations, and trolley rides will be among activities planned this weekend to draw attention to Doan Brook, which runs under campus on its way to Lake Erie.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 18. Free trolleys will depart every 20 minutes from nine stops along the 13.5-mile loop, which extends from Shaker Lakes to Gordon State Park (near I-90 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard).

The central stop is Rockefeller Park, located at MLK Jr. Blvd. and East 105th Street. Activities at this site will include the ice cream social (from 1-3:30 p.m.), entertainment by Dance Afrika Dance and the New Orleans Stompers jazz band, games, educational displays, discussions of visions for the park's future, and a presentation on the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's study of Doan Brook (which assesses problems that affect water quality, aquatic life, sewers, stream banks and retaining walls, sediment, and debris).

Members of AQUACorps -- the CWRU-based Aquatic Quality Urban Action Corps -- will host displays and games at Rockefeller Park on what a watershed is, and how to get involved with water quality testing and other volunteer projects.

AQUACorps members have been involved in outreach efforts with area residents to spread awareness of the event as well as environmental issues involved with Doan Brook. To volunteer to participate in educational activities with children or assist with water sampling, call AQUACorps in CWRU's Office of Student Community Service at 368-6960.

Several other stops will have special presenters and activities for the day:

"Lover's Lane," at the southeast corner of Coventry and North Park: The Shaker Historical Society and CWRU's Department of Civil Engineering will give presentations on stream and lake hydrology (how urban waterways work).
The Gorge (North Park at Delaware Drive): The Cleveland Museum of Natural History will give presentations on geology and natural science. Participants can also take gorge and quarry walks.
Culvert under University Circle, in Ambler Park: The Cuyahoga River Watershed Project will give stream biology demonstrations at the site where Doan Brook goes into the mile-long tunnel under University Circle.
Ronald McDonald House, 10435 Euclid Avenue: "Meet" Nathaniel Doan, a blacksmith who was among Cleveland's early settlers, and view the exhibit on Doan's Corners, part of the 100-acre property Doan purchased in 1799 which includes the Ronald McDonald House site at Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street.
Gordon State Park: The Western Reserve Historical Society will showcase historical items from Doan's era in "At Home with Nathaniel Doan," and the Steamship William G. Mather Museum will offer presentations on Lake Erie ecology and the history of Great Lakes shipping.
Cultural Gardens (Hungarian Garden, a quarter-mile north of Superior Avenue on East Blvd.): The Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation will offer "Tributes to Cleveland's Cultural Heritage."

Other stops will highlight outdoor offerings available year round, such as nature trails at Shaker Lakes, and the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse at 750 East 88th Street.

Parking will be available at five stops: the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, Vel's on the Circle, Ronald McDonald House, Rockefeller Park, and Gordon State Park.

The primary sponsors are the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes and the Joint Committee on the Doan Brook. For event information, call 321-5935 or pick up a brochure from CWRU's Office of Student Community Service in 105 Yost Hall.

Call 875-8802 for details on the sewer district's brook study. The Year of the Brook is a year-long effort to identify community resources and recruit local volunteers to help improve the state of the environment around the brook.

An international team of 13 volunteers from eight countries, plus two American volunteers, will be in Cleveland from July 17-31 to help restore stream beds along Doan Brook. Organized through the Council on International Educational Exchange, the team draws members from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Morocco, Slovakia, and Spain. The volunteers will stay in CWRU residence halls while in town.