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Mrs. Sarah Orlando | Ohio Sea Grant

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Mrs. Sarah Orlando

Clean Marinas, Program Manager, Ohio Sea Grant College Program

About Orlando

Mrs.  Sarah Ann Orlando

Mrs. Sarah Orlando

Clean Marinas, Program Manager, Ohio Sea Grant College Program

Sarah oversees the Ohio Clean Marinas, Clean Boater, and Shrink Wrap Recycling Programs. She provides education and outreach to the marina and boating community on a variety of topics including stormwater, aquatic invasive species, marine debris, and coastal resiliency.


HERE IS HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

EXPERTISE / SPECIALIZATIONS
  • Clean and Safe Boating
  • Working Waterfronts
  • Shrinkwrap Recycling
  • Monofilament Recycling
  • Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS)

Sarah Orlando is an Extension Educator with Ohio Sea Grant based in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Coastal Management in Sandusky. She is the Program Manager for the Ohio Clean Marinas and Clean Boater programs – voluntary, incentive-based programs to help maintain and improve Lake Erie water quality while preserving the economic activity and viability of the marine trades industry. Her primary responsibilities include conducting research, education and outreach with the marina and boating community on a variety of topics including stormwater, aquatic invasive species, marine debris, and coastal resiliency. Sarah also coordinates the Ohio Shrink-Wrap Recycling Program, a cost effective, eco-friendly alternative to disposing of shrink-wrap for Lake Erie marinas and boaters.

Professional memberships and committees include

Sarah holds her bachelor’s degree in biology with minors in marine science and English from Wittenberg University. Through a Research Experience for Undergraduates in 2007, Sarah discovered The Ohio State University’s F.T. Stone Laboratory, where she studied round goby activity in Lake Erie and took courses on Lake Erie ecology. She later served as a Biological Field Station Assistant in 2008 and as Assistant Lab Manager in 2009. Her master’s degree is in marine resources management from Texas A&M University at Galveston. Sarah grew up in Cuyahoga County and now lives in Lorain County with her husband, Steve, and their dog, Rocky.

Impacts and Accomplishments

As a result of Ohio Clean Marinas Program’s leadership in reserach, education, and outreach, over 75 marina owners and staff received essential information to guide them on compliance and best practices to address boat wash wastewater regulatory changes in Ohio.

In response to marina industry demand for environmental education and professional development, the 2nd annual Ohio Marina Conference was held in 2018 with over 60 marina professionals participating. This Ohio Sea Grant-sponsored conference offered relevant education and training, with 66% of surveyed attendees reporting the conference will help keep their business going, or advance professionally in their career.

Ohio Sea Grant is leading a project that utilizes marina owner input to directly inform the development of a local coastal storms preparedness, adaptation and response tool for Great Lakes marinas.

Through engaging partners in the research, industry and agency sectors, the NOAA Great Lakes Marine Debris Action Plan is prioritizing and delegating action on reducing debris in our Great Lakes waterways. Ohio Sea Grant’s ability to communicate scientific information through education and outreach with Lake Erie stakeholders will serve to advance the goals of the plan in Ohio.

As a result of the education and outreach provided to boat show visitors at the Ohio Sea Grant exhibit at the Progressive Mid-America Boat Show, stakeholders are learning new information about protecting Lake Erie, modifying their practices, and sharing this information with others.

Ohio Sea Grant’s educational efforts resulted in an estimated 4,172 individuals intending to change their behaviors and use lessons learned in future decision making to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.

Ohio Sea Grant’s participation in the Cleveland Water Alliance and the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Initiative connects resource managers and organizations in Northeast Ohio with accurate, unbiased scientific information and continues to advance Sea Grant’s outreach mission through engaging stakeholders in taking actions toward a more sustainable future.

The Ohio Clean Boater Program enables boaters to take individual action by pledging to adopt best boating practices. The initiative supports the Ohio Clean Marinas Program, a proactive partnership that encourages marinas to use simple, innovative solutions to keep Ohio’s coastal and inland waterway resources clean.

Ohio Sea Grant is providing new information for scientists, managers, and policy makers on copper contamination in nearshore areas of Lake Erie through a research project in partnership with Ohio’s Clean Marinas. The project presented data essential for making well-founded decisions regarding our freshwater resources.

Ohio Sea Grant's Clean Marinas Program has worked with a total of 48 certified and 52 pledged Ohio marinas to implement ecosystem-based best management practices that reduce nonpoint source pollution at marinas while improving compliance with regulations and increasing dock sales.

The Ohio Sea Grant shrink wrap recycling program is saving marinas and taxpayers money while conserving landfill space, resulting in a useful product for Ohio businesses that benefits Ohioans statewide.