From Rust Belt to Blue Belt: Meet the Organizations Growing Northeast Ohio’s Water Economy

Think of a drop of Lake Erie water as a crystal ball. Stare at the drop and it could reveal incredible strides — improvements in sustainability, cleaner water, booming fishing, transportation and commerce industries. And, of course, recreational opportunities that put Lake Erie and the Great Lakes in an enviable position.

“Recreational boating is key to our whole blue economy,” says Michelle Burke, president, Ohio Marine Trades Association. “I know what it’s like to come from a world where you think boating isn’t for you and that it is too expensive, to seeing how life changes with exposure to the water. Buying a boat is like buying a car or a house. You don’t have to have the most expensive to get all the benefits of being near water and boats. It’s scientifically proven as a stress reliever.”

But none of that is possible if people aren’t exposed to our freshwater resources — Lake Erie, inland lakes, rivers and streams. Burke is grateful for the recent improved access to water around Cleveland and other Lake Erie shoreline cities. But she says access won’t be fully utilized if exposure and the desire to use and enjoy water isn’t jumpstarted.

To help reach that goal, Ohio Marine Trades Association is partially focused on workforce initiatives. A new partnership with Cuyahoga Community College has led to the development of a marine training program that will help keep the region’s blue economy moving forward.

“We’re saying, ‘Tell us what you need so we can work together to get you what you need,’” says Tri-C President Michael Baston. “If we can produce trained people to address the challenges that continue, that will be very important for us.”

Tri-C is enhancing traditional career paths — like welding and electrical engineering — by adding specialized microcredentials tailored for the maritime environment. A total $6.4 billion is generated annually by recreational boating in Ohio, and $3.66 billion is generated directly from vessel expenses, including boat purchases, docking fees, insurance, etc., as well as trip item expenditures including lodging, meals and supplies. This part of recreational boating supports 25,476 jobs in Ohio. 

An additional $2.75 billion is generated by the marine trades industry through charters, education, dealers, liveries, marinas, manufacturing and storage. This portion supports 20,380 jobs within the state. 

“If you work in this industry, you usually play in this industry,” Burke adds. “As people move toward water, I think we are going to see a lot of lifestyle and employment changes in the next 10, 20 years, and we need to be ready for that. Sometimes community leaders say, ‘Well, we put in a kayak launch.’ That’s wonderful for access, but it’s not the whole story. You need marinas and other vital facilities.

“We have so many professionals with disposable incomes living in Downtown Cleveland. I ask them why they don’t own a boat, and they say it’s because they have nowhere to put it.”

According to Burke, Downtown Chicago has 6,000 boat slips. Downtown Cleveland has about 60. Ohioans spent 315 million human exposure hours boating in Ohio; 187 million hours on motorboats and 128 million on non-motorized boats. 

“There is such opportunity there,” she says. “Ohio wants to keep its brightest people in the state, and our waterfront cities can help with that. We don’t want them to go elsewhere.”

Burke is deeply heartened by the leadership, successes and innovative activities that nonprofits, the business community, government entities and private citizens have made recently moving the Rust Belt into a Blue Belt. She notes a number of entities making a difference.

Fresh Water Institute 

Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne isn’t responsible for the poor environmental treatment that Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River have endured in the past. But that history has created “a special responsibility” for the county to “be a leader in building out a water economy,” Ronayne says. “Our past presents us with an opportunity to right some wrongs.”

To achieve that goal, Ronayne founded the Fresh Water Institute in 2024, aimed at introducing a new generation of stewards for our most precious of resources. He was partly inspired by both professional and personal trips to Costa Rica and Glacier National Park in Montana, where he saw young people acting as highly educated ambassadors and advocates of sustainability.

Although still in its infancy, the Fresh Water Institute has gained national attention for its focus on three main programs. The Fresh Water Institute Fellowship Program (in partnership with Teaching Place and Syatt) is a two-year program that introduces 10th and 11th graders from across Cuyahoga County to the complex interconnections between the environmental, economic, social and recreational aspects of the Great Lakes. One Saturday a month, students come together to examine a related topic in depth.

Fresh Water Institute has also expanded AquaMissions, a water safety instruction program geared toward fourth graders in partnership with Cleveland State University. As access to bodies of water increases, Ronayne believes there is a greater need to decrease water-related accidents. According to Emily Bacha, Fresh Water Institute program director, 2,500 students from Cleveland and Warrensville Heights schools have benefited from the program over the past two years.

The third focus is the Fresh Water Institute Young Adult Internship Program. In partnership with the Student Conservation Association, FWI has been able to create paid, relevant internships in water-related organizations and industries.

“Our responsibility is to create a beautiful, blue future,” says Ronayne. “And we have just begun.”

Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory

Don’t expect drinks with tiny umbrellas and lazy afternoons by a pool if you visit Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island in Lake Erie. This “island lab” is where students of all ages, the general public and public officials can see and learn what must be done to protect and enhance the Great Lakes.

“Our job is to take nerdy research and translate it for the public. It’s not just for people who live, work and play along the lake. We provide data to agencies and organizations that invest money to do things like maintain fish populations and control algal bloom,” says Chris Winslow, director of Ohio Sea Grant (a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration affiliate) and Stone Laboratory director. “For some people, it means coming here and getting dirty, wet and smelly.”

In other words, exposure to fresh water means people learn to care, and that includes the annual 2,700 fifth graders on daytime or overnight field trips and 250 college students working toward bachelor’s degrees who can be found scuba diving for research or keeping track of endangered species. Educating the next generation to respect and protect the Great Lakes is a priority for Winslow and his staff.

“We also get 10,000 people a year who come to vacation in Put-in-Bay, get off the ferry and walk to our lighthouse, where we tell them about microplastics in water and other things we are researching,” says Winslow, who also provides outreach to farmers, commercial fishermen and charter boat owners so they understand what roles they play in preserving this natural resource.

“Some charter captains are losing business because no one wants to go out on green water with alga blooms,” says Winslow. “A healthy environment is a healthy economy.”

Argonaut

Sometimes it starts with something as basic as persuading a student to go waist-deep into a swimming pool. Although some students enroll in Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School in Cleveland looking at future maritime or water recreation-related careers, they often have very limited experience being on or in the water.

D. Andrew (“Drew”) Ferguson, chief executive officer of Argonaut, a nonprofit organization acting as an industry expert connecting students and teachers to hands-on learning experiences in the school’s two concentrations, is devoted to changing that reluctance and exposing young people to career opportunities.

The school, part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, will undergo a transformation next fall and will become part of a comprehensive, traditional institution named Benjamin O. Davis Junior High. The new school will continue to offer aerospace and maritime classes.

“We are committed to keeping the school alive and doing what we need to do,” says Ferguson, noting that includes providing “deliberate and purposeful programs” that allow students to achieve a certain level of mastery, obtain volunteer and jobs in the community and develop the confidence needed to succeed in life and in a career.

Davis graduates have found positions with the U.S. Navy and U.S Coast Guard, in maritime service on freighters, employed by Cleveland Metroparks and as captain and crew members of Flotsam and Jetsam, Clevelander’s much loved debris harvester vessels on the Cuyahoga River. (Some students also serve as interns on the boats.)

“They want to be back in Cleveland,” Ferguson says of his students, acknowledging they learn loyalty to the city and to Lake Erie. “Even if they don’t go into the maritime industry (where they can achieve higher incomes), they end up buying a boat, fishing, kayaking and introducing their family and friends to the water. We are not just teaching for a job here. We are developing a passion that is good for the individual and Northeast Ohio’s economy.”    

Cleveland Metroparks

No other entity in Northeast Ohio has created more safe or easy access to Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River than Cleveland Metroparks. As Brian Zimmerman, the park district’s CEO says: “You can’t think of boating and recreational activities without thinking about Cleveland Metroparks.” 

The district’s influence on connecting people and communities with our fresh water has been unprecedented. Past accomplishments include the transfer of the Ohio State parks along the lake in 2017 to the Metroparks’ Cleveland Lakefront Reservation. That action resulted in a new beach house, Wendy Park Bridge that connects Wendy Park and Whiskey Island and additional related educational and recreational activities.

In addition, the North Coast Harbor area is now under Cleveland Metroparks’ direction, along with access and improvements to the historic former U.S. Coast Guard Station that are on the table. Also, a new 2.7-mile, $17 million lighted extension of the Mandel Community Trail creates an improved connection to the lake for a formerly “landlocked” area of Cleveland.

The park district’s most recent projects include transforming a historic 45-acre park in the St. Clair neighborhood, providing lake access. Also, of great interest to the public is Barge 225, the former Hornblower’s barge (once a floating restaurant), destined to be a nature-based programming facility. The barge’s new home is the Wildwood Marina in Euclid Creek Reservation. Funding for the project is underway, according to Zimmerman.     

Patrick S. Parker Community Sailing Center

Scheduled to open this summer at the East 55th Street Marina in Cleveland, the $15 million Patrick S. Parker Community Sailing Center is described as a transformative, year-round community hub and lakefront destination. Its mission includes providing sailing and water safety education for all and offering both local and world-class sporting events. Included among the programs, under the direction of The Cleveland Foundry at the Charlie Britton Sailing School, are Youth Learn-to-Sail, Family Sailing Basics, Interscholastic Sailing, Adult Basic Series and many more courses.

“The Sailing Center was born out of a mission to get more people access to Lake Erie and to break down barriers to the waterfront and its activities,” says Zimmerman.               

Intercity Yacht Club

It’s home. The ceremonial shovel used to throw the first scoop of soil for the Intercity Yacht Club construction project more than 50 years ago has its own place of honor in the facility’s clubhouse.

The caretaker of the shovel has been James “Slim” Parks Jr., son of James “Slim” Parks, who, along with several other Black boaters, established the private but inclusive yacht club in 1968. Frustrated by racial discrimination that prevented Black boaters from refueling or docking in local yacht clubs, the men established their club’s first location at East 72 Street and now at 7301 N. Marginal Road, within the Cleveland Metroparks’ East 55th Street Marina. 

The shovel did more than just pitch dirt. It helped bury segregation, creating one of the few Black-operated yacht clubs in America, which continues today to help introduce minorities to recreational boating. Today’s 52 members (primarily powerboaters with watercraft that range from 60-foot houseboats to more modest boats enjoy equal access to Lake Erie). In addition, several annual club activities promote socialization and community strength, according to Intercity Yacht Club Commodore Ryan Weekes.

Full members, associate members (individuals who do not have boats), lifetime members and the Ladies Auxiliary may see a change in this year’s activities. The traditionally named Commodore’s Ball may morph into “something like an Island Luau to include more people,” according to Weekes.

But the Intercity Yacht Club isn’t all just about sunsets over the lake and that exhilarating feeling of hitting the open water. Educational outreach is important to members, including past Commodore Thomas “Rock” Adams and pioneering member Aaron Oliver. The club is a member of Black Environmental Leaders, Ohio Marine Trades Association and Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy. Members also regularly participate in Cleveland Metroparks’ boater outreach, water safety and water quality events.

“The biggest misconception that many people have about Lake Erie is that it is a dirty lake. I was scared of it, too, when I first came here,” admits Weekes, originally from Barbados. “But now I know more and want others to have the pleasure of enjoying the lake, as well.”

Water’s impact on the economy and our lifestyles 

• A total $6.4 billion is generated annually by recreational boating in Ohio, and $3.66 billion is generated directly from vessel expenses, including boat purchases, docking fees, insurance, etc., as well as trip item expenditures including lodging, meals and supplies. This part of recreational boating supports 25,476 jobs in Ohio.

• An additional $2.75 billion is generated by the marine trades industry through charters, education, dealers, liveries, marinas, manufacturing and storage. This portion supports 20,380 jobs within the state.

• Lake Erie’s lakeshore counties drive one-third of Ohio’s tourism dollars. More consumable fish are harvested from Lake Erie than all the other Great Lakes combined.

• Ohioans spent 315 million human exposure hours boating in Ohio; 187 million hours on motorboats and 128 million on non-motorized boats.

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