Earth Day - this is Cleveland's Cuyahoga River NOW!

Ahhh it’s been 54 years since the first Earth Day. You may participate in a beach clean-up, plant a tree or flowers, or any number of infinite ways to recognize and celebrate a time when concerns about environmental pollution led to a nationwide grassroots response in 1970.

Image by bill roverts (1964)

Many think-pieces will reference the relatively minor fire on the Cuyahoga River that received national attention (along with an erroneous photo) after Time Magazine ran a short but devastating piece.

We do wish more journalists (and their editors) would flip the script and instead of looking back on the bad old days, they take a look at the ONE river in the world that can elegantly and directly speak to how far the ecological movement has come for a variety of reasons.

  • the value of common sense environmental regulations like the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA)

  • the positive impact of large remediation investments the public has made via EPA funding (i.e. community development following delisting of the Ashtabula AOC) that turned the Cuyahoga River from a river the city turned its back on into a place people want to use as their front porch.

  • How large investments in stormwater infrastructure have improved the river’s and Lake Erie’s health (looking at you Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District!)

  • the substantial catalytic impact a revitalized natural resource has had on the regional economy and quality of life for Cleveland's citizens and Ohio’s coastal communities.

We wish more journos and editors would show the Cuyahoga as it is used TODAY (as the images below show) and yes, our 6th Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest is the PR event and photo-op reminder of the industrial strength fun paddlers can have on a revitalized natural resource that has been transformed from a pipeline for industrial waste into a conduit for tourism and recreation! That’s a great example of how environmental stewardship is good business!

Be part of our annual celebration of the comeback Cuyahoga River by registering for our June 22, 2024 Blazing Paddles Paddlefest today. Save $10 until April 27 by using the promo code EarthDayBPP. We WILL sell out so please register soon!

Blazing Paddles Paddlefest 2019 (Ken Busch)

blazing paddles paddlefest 2021 (ron skinner)

blazing paddles paddlefest (brett fisher)

blazing paddles paddlefest 2022 (drone ohio)

blazing paddles paddlefest (Tom Hart)

What a stray cat taught me about the healing power of the outdoors

We’re going slightly off the waterfront script for a personal story by our Founder, Jim Ridge:

It all started when a stray cat decided he would adopt us. You don’t choose the cat - the cat chooses you. He showed up in June 2022 and encouraged by the food my wife left out, decided to hang out.

After a week of dating his eyes didn’t seem right - so off to the vet and $400 later the nameless stray became Lil’ Boi (AKA Kevin Love). The vet diagnosed the eye issue was related to his positive feline leukemia test (my wife wondered if that’s why his previous “owners” bounced him) meaning we needed to keep him separate from our two other cats, so Lil’ Boi had a sunny third floor all to himself.

Fast forward to a week ago when Lil’ Bo’s health took a decided turn south. A trip to the vet confirmed our fears his “1 -2 years left” diagnosis from his first vet visit was ending early, and two days later, Lil’ Boi breathed his last breath in my lap at the vet.

Like any pet owner, we shed a few tears at the memories. The planned obsolesence of pets is a terrible thing. Previous periods of grief (the price we pay for love) have taught me to be receptive to signs the universe might be talking to me, through a series of meaningful coincidences and connections. Like a Rick Rubin book, a Taylor Swift song, or even a LinkedIn post.

That fractured mosaic came together in the form of inspiration that’s driving this narrative. I was arriving at insight from my time with Lil’ Boi.

Given Lil’ Boi’s isolation on the third floor, I did my best to make sure he got some outside time each day, Often it would be right around sunset (when it would dawn on me I'd been cranking on the computer for waaaaaaay too long and the day had almost passed).

Since he had cut his teeth as an outside cat, I fitted him with a snappy harness and leash and began training him on the acceptable urban perimeter around our house, yard, alley, and dead-end street in the heart of Ohio City. I let him explore with the leash dragging behind so I could learn what areas interested him.

Lil’ Boi loved:

  • rolling around on the grass

  • watching sunlit leaves dance in the breeze

  • watching bees hover over the clover

  • rolling around in sandy patches

  • tapping at pools of water left after a rainstorm

  • watching people and other animals walk by

  • hunting through verdant green ground cover.

  • playing in fallen leaves

Taken more spiritually, inspiration means to breathe life into. An ancient interpretation defines it as the immediate influence of the divine. For the artist, inspiration is a breath of creative Force drawn in instantly from outside of our small selves. We can’t be sure where the spark of insight originates. It’s helpful to know it’s not us alone.
— Rick Rubin - The Creative Act: A Way of Life

And when Lil Boi wandered too far, I’d step on the leash and point him in a more preferable direction. And if he managed to temporarily wander from my sight, it was “end of walk, back upstairs for you”. He was a smart cat and it didn’t take long for him to learn outside time was directly related to him staying inside the “invisible boundary'“. And soon it turned into Lil’ Boi taking ME for walks, usually around sunset, a natural break in my workday. He'd walk around "free" while I enjoyed some downtime outside as I kept an eye on him.

Walking a cat is different than walking a dog as seemingly every few feet there was something interesting to explore. In late spring 2022, there was an evening when Cleveland’s typically bracing spring finally started giving way to warm summer-like breezes and golden sunsets. It was one of these days when Lil’ Boi took me on a walk through the yard. As he walked onto the sunlit grass a breeze wafted through his short fur as his upright raccoon tail bristled. He lifted his head towards the warm sun and I could see him filling his lungs with fresh air. it was the physical manifestation of the word ‘inspiration” (to breathe life into). The sight made me take notice and contemplate how a brief exposure to nature made that cat come alive. The same holds true for us humans.

That spark of insight moves me now as I ponder how those outdoor moments will no longer be shared with Lil’ Boi. But it also makes me more intentional about taking outside breaks as my sunset stroll excuse no longer exists.

Connecting the dots on what the universe is telling me…

As I pondered the teachable moment of Lil’ Boi’s passing, I stumbled upon talented pal Jo Byrne’s/SeeYourWords.com LinkedIn post of her visual notetaking of NPR’s Body Electric episode that was the finale of a 6-part investigation and interactive project with TED Radio Hour host Manoush Zomorodi. Moving more regularly has measurable health benefits for us!

Lil Boi’s last trip to the vet came the morning after a wonderful evening where Share the River was kindly recognized by the Cuyahoga Area of Concern (Cuyahoga AOC) Advisory Committee for their 2023 Champion of the River award. The “award is an encouragement to keep doing great work, rather than a retrospective on past work.” To that end…..

  • I smiled at the thought of how my walks with Lil’ Boi forced me to unplug and get outside. And I was better off for it. It made me consider what incredible service dogs (and outdoor cats) did for their owners during the pandemic.

So what to do with the insight Lil’ Boi gave me?

Image by Jo Byrne

  • I’ve attended countless forums, community engagement and planning meetings ranging from grass-roots community pop-up projects to large-scale transformational projects. I will be especially mindful and listen harder when discussions turn to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility to blue and green spaces. How many of us fall into the trap of doing what we want to do rather than doing what we should be doing?

  • Speaking of accessibility, it was a fortuitous series of events that led Share the River to add YAKport kayak launches (personal paddle sport launches) to the floating docks at Cleveland Metroparks’ Merwin’s Wharf. Our temporary fix for river access during our 5th Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest was such a hit with paddlers that Cleveland Metroparks made them a permanent addition to their floating docks on the river. And just like the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 did, it showed how enhancing access for a specific group of users improved access for ALL OF US.

  • We can advocate for more thoughtful spaces that allow people access to revitalizing natural resources. If you ask people how to get on the river, educated users will tell you there are only TWO places (Cleveland Metroparks Merwin’s Wharf and Great Lakes Watersports) where the general public can access the Cuyahoga River. We need to do better.

  • And when people access the river, they must be mindful of sharing the river with commercial maritime operators (#MindTheFreighter). We’ll get better at making our “Know Before You Go on the Cuyahoga River” safety page more visible and widespread.

  • In terms of thoughtful access, we will be doubling down on our efforts to host historically disadvantaged communities on Cleveland’s bodies of water by meeting those audiences at their level. We will work to help, as Carl Cook, Executive Director of Project Save Cleveland shared in our video conversation “Get people out of the bubble”.

  • To accomplish the above, Share the River will need plenty of help. When we ask individuals and organizations for your partnership and muscle, we hope to be greeted with “Glad you are here. We share your mindset and have been meaning to do something about that. How can we help make it happen?”

Connecting the Franklin Blvd. Detour Dots Between the Ohio to Erie Trail and Towpath Trail

Connecting the Franklin Blvd. Detour Dots Between the Ohio to Erie Trail and Towpath Trail

The long-awaited beginning of the Irishtown Bend hillside stabilization project finally arrived this week. Franklin Blvd. a key connector from 25th St. to Columbus Rd. will be shut down until fall of 2025.

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2023 Red Bull Flugtag Cincinnati - lunacy on the Ohio River!

2023 Red Bull Flugtag Cincinnati - lunacy on the Ohio River!

Saturday August 12 was an epic day in Ohio (known as the “birthplace of aviation”) as Red Bull Flugtag Cincinnati took over the Ohio River for a day of fun, frivolity, and engineering failures. Cincinnati was the only city in the United States to host Flugtag this year and it seemed appropriately ironic given the nearby location of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park where “Arguably, the human imagination found its highest expression in two men from Dayton, Ohio: Wilbur and Orville Wright, first to fly a powered, heavier-than-air machine and creators of the practical airplane.

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Remembering Tommy Piros - by Edie Call

Remembering Tommy Piros - by Edie Call

For those who didn’t know him, Tommy was a kayaker. Not just any kayaker; an exceptionally talented whitewater kayaker, sponsored by Jackson Kayak. He loved running wild rivers and stout waterfalls, and he did it with his own unique style and grace. His whole family kayaks, and they’re all really, REALLY good. Tommy started paddling before he was out of diapers. The guy basically grew up on the water and he was always up for an adventure.

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Happy 53rd Anniversary Earth Day! Blazing Paddles Paddlefest is the photo-op for the comeback Cuyahoga River

Happy 53rd Anniversary Earth Day! Blazing Paddles Paddlefest is the photo-op for the comeback Cuyahoga River

For several years we used to recognize Earth Day by prowling the Cuyahoga River shoreline, in an effort to show still images and video of how the comeback Cuyahoga River looked and felt now - as opposed to pulling up five decade-old images from the bad ol’ days at the dawn of Earth Day.

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Blazing Paddles Paddlefest thoughts at Brite Winter 2023

Blazing Paddles Paddlefest thoughts at Brite Winter 2023

As we finalize planning for our Fifth Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest on July 21-22, 2023 we’re VERY curious about what you’d like us to provide (remember, “a vision without resources is a hallucination” and YES, sponsorship and organization partner opportunities are available) so our rapidly growing Cleveland waterfront event sustainably and properly represents Cleveland’s cool summer vibe that Brite Winter does so well in winter.

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U.S. Coast Guard Dedicates Marine Safety Unit Cleveland Building in Honor of Dr. Olivia J. Hooker, the First Black Woman to Serve in its Ranks

U.S. Coast Guard Dedicates Marine Safety Unit Cleveland Building in Honor of Dr. Olivia J. Hooker, the First Black Woman to Serve in its Ranks

Friday’s Coast Guard MSU Cleveland dedication ceremony honoring Dr. Olivia J. Hooker, the first black woman to serve in the United States Coast Guard, opened a window into our nation’s racial history and Dr. Hooker’s personal perseverance and dedication to advancing equity and inclusion through community advocacy and education.

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Share the River's Pep Club Dance Party for the Union Home Mortgage Cleveland Marathon is Back!

Share the River's Pep Club Dance Party for the Union Home Mortgage Cleveland Marathon is Back!

It’s been two years since our Pep Club Dance Party has had a chance to do our thing so we’re putting together an impromptu version of our annual cheer zone for the Union Home Mortgage Cleveland Marathon runners tomorrow, May 22, from 7:45 a.m. to about 9:30 a.m.

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The official guide to cycling the Cleveland portion of the Ohio to Erie Trail

The official guide to cycling the Cleveland portion of the Ohio to Erie Trail

Cleveland’s expanding network of connected trails are now being explored by many out-of-town cyclists. We’ve seen enough “confusion” on the socials on how best to complete the northern leg of the 326-mile Ohio to Erie Trail that links the Ohio River to Lake Erie.

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Director David Ruck on the world premiere of his film The Erie Situation at the Cleveland International Film Festival

Director David Ruck on the world premiere of his film The Erie Situation at the Cleveland International Film Festival

During the recent State of Lake Erie conference.we spoke with director David Ruck about the upcoming world debut of his film “The Erie Situation” at the Cleveland International Film festival. David shared thoughts on his filmmaking process, the challenge scientists have communicating the results of their research, and the impact harmful algae blooms are having on the Western Lake Erie Basin

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Register for Blazing Paddles Paddlefest for a chance at winning two free tickets for “The Erie Situation” at Cleveland International Film Festival

Register for Blazing Paddles Paddlefest for a chance at winning two free tickets for “The Erie Situation” at Cleveland International Film Festival

Share the River will select two Blazing Paddles Paddlefest registrants at 9 am on Saturday morning, April 2, 2022 to receive two sets of tickets to “The Erie Situation”. at the Cleveland International Film Festival. at Playhouse Square. Winners can choose to attend either the world debut of “The Erie Situation” on Sunday, April 3, 2022 at 7:25 p.m. or the second showing on Monday, April 4, 2022 at 4:50 p.m. Tickets will be e-mailed to the winners.

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