Roger Williams Park Pond Clean Up

In the first major pond project in over 30 years, officials at the Roger Williams Park in Providence are hoping to improve the water quality of the ponds that comprise much of the charm of the park. The ponds, 7 in all, were man-made from dredging marshes in the early 1900's. Nevertheless, they are part of a watershed, connecting Spectacle and Mashpaug ponds which are 1 mile northeast along the Cranston-Providence border. Their contents eventually empty downstream into the Pawtuxet River and Narragansett Bay.

Contributing to the present day pollution of the Roger Williams Park ponds is storm water run-off containing phosphorous some of which comes from fertilizers and makes the pond ripe for algae growth. In addition, sediment that is carried in the run-off makes the ponds shallower and even more susceptible to plant growth.

Several solutions are being proposed to get run-off water filtered more naturally including removing unsecessary pavement in the park and stopping drainage from the carousel roof. Dredging the ponds could also help. But these alone won't solve all of the pollution problems

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Another source of pollution of the water in the ponds are the large numbers of Canada Geese who populate the area. These birds are protected from extinction by the National Migratory Bird Act. Their droppings pollute the pond and they eat the grass around the pond which would block run-off from bringing pollutants to the pond. Some solutions to these issues include addling (shaking) their eggs. They then are returned to the nest so the adults don't lay additional eggs and the original eggs don't hatch. This has been successful in other areas. Some would like to see restrictions on people feeding bread to the Canada Geese, but some park goers would not be amenable to that type of restriction as feeding birds at a park is a reverered tradition to many people.

Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean

Started in 2010 by two young professionals, Rachael Miller and partner James Lyne, the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean is already making its mark. This duo grew up near the water as sailors and water enthusiasts but quickly became concerned citizens alarmed to see the toll marine debris was taking on ocean life, ecosystems and the environment. Determined to do something they founded an organization that combines activism and education to combat the growing problem of marine debris. As testimony to their success in a very short time, the Rozalia Project was the recipient of a $20,000 award from the 2011 Interlux Waterfront Challenge. The Rozalia organization has involved over 1400 volunteers in its short life so far and utilized state of the art equipment to remove thousands of pieces of marine debris from the ocean floor in dozens of locations.

The project first uses nets as a low tech but effective means of removing marine debris that can be seen by volunteers. For more difficult to remove debris the project uses a combination of a few different pieces of high tech equipment. The Tritech Starfish seabed imaging system shows images of a wide area. It is a small piece of equipment and is useful in pointing to areas of debris that need attention. Next may be used the Video Ray ROV (remote operated vehicle) - a small robot controlled from the surface that can take video and still photos. It carries a manipulator to grab everything from plastics to fishing traps. An advantage of it is that it can carry sonar and positioning devices and has no effect on sea creatures. It can get where humans cannot safely go due to ocean depth, pressure or extreme temperatures. There are also two pieces of equipment that lighten and magnify images. This image enhancement allows for the robot to more effectively remove debris. In 2011 a new piece of equipment - Smart Tether positioning system gives the robot the exact latitude and longitude and allows for the marking of the location of every piece of trash to be shown on Google Earth in trash tracks. This will aid scientists in data collection and research.

With its cleanup efforts along the Northeast coast stretching from Long Island Sound to Portland, Maine, the Rozalia project with its mission of action through the use of technology and volunteer manpower and coupled with education has shown the power of two individuals to effect positive change in our ocean and world. For more information check out their website at http://www.rozaliaproject.org/ and especially Rachael's blog at http://rozaliaproject.blogspot.com/. The Rozalia project is a 501 (c)(3) not for profit organization. Address mail to: Rozalia Project PO Box 75 Granville, VT 05747.