THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE PROUD OF IN 2022 AND MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE YEAR AHEAD
Ohio
Because of your unyielding support, input, and engagement, we are advancing Trust for Public Land’s mission of connecting everyone in Ohio to the outdoors. With community at the center of our work, we are leveraging the positive energy around local coalition building and leading a nationwide movement to close the outdoor equity gap in Ohio and beyond.
As we consider the future of our work in Ohio, we look to the skies to discover a new niche in our land conservation work—birds! Given Ohio’s geography as a prime bird migration corridor, aligning with the bird conservation movement will help strengthen the case for our land protection efforts across the state. We are actively connecting with the birding community to better understand the intricate role birds play in the health of our natural systems.
Thank you for being a TPL champion.
The momentum behind our Parks for People initiative continues to grow, bolstered by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s commitment to creating a new parks department and improving equity city-wide. The City has re-committed to TPL’s 10-minute walk to a park standard for all, and is participating in our national park equity pilot effort—the Park Equity Accelerator— which will deliver technical assistance to improve park quality across Cleveland.
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Sean Terry, Ohio State Director
Finally, thanks to your support, we have made enormous
These exciting updates would not be possible without your generosity. We are grateful for your role in ensuring everyone can benefit from nature’s healing and unifying powers. Thank you again.
strides in bringing TPL’s Community Schoolyards™ to Ohio. In fall 2022, we look forward to officially launching our Community Schoolyards program and improving access to nature-rich open spaces in neighborhoods in and around Cleveland.
PHOTO: © DUSTIN FRANZ
This past year we saw our Ohio Advisory Board evolve. We extended congratulations and bid adieu to Dr. Aparna Bole, who accepted a role with the Biden Administration, and we welcomed Jason Wood, Cleveland’s former Chief of Sustainability and current executive for JOANN. The Ohio office also increased its staff capacity by welcoming two new additions: Laura Hnat, Director of Philanthropy; and Kaela Geschke, Parks for People Director. Laura and Kaela have brought fresh energy, excitement, and valuable expertise to our program as we eye future growth for work in Ohio.
basic bicycle repairs and safety tips for community members. With a generous donation from Buckeye Partners, 17 young residents won brand new bicycles and bike safety gear in the bike raffle.
Families gathered on the vibrant basketball court, renovated by TPL in 2019, for music, a cookout, and neighborhood resources. TPL and partners gave away bike locks and fitted more than 75 children with free helmets, while mechanics from Joy Machine provided
Cleveland, OH
Last spring, together with our local partners, we celebrated the opening the Red Line Greenway, a nearly two-mile paved active transportation corridor from West 65th Street to downtown Cleveland. The Greenway runs between two popular Rapid Transit Authority stations and directly connects eight Cleveland neighborhoods to the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail. The new urban trail, which is lined with native trees and plants, is a part of the Cleveland Metroparks trail system and connects tens of thousands of residents to a safe bike and pedestrian passage between home, work, school, and play.
The renovated pedestrian and cycling bridge gives residents of Lakeview Terrace—a Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority community—car-free access to the shores of Lake Erie for the first time in its nearly 90-year history. The aptly named Lakeview Terrace community has had lake vistas without ever having direct access to the waterfront. Today, with help from our local partners including the Wendy Park Foundation, LAND Studio, and Cleveland Metroparks, the Lakeview community and the neighborhoods on the west side of the river now have a close, easily accessible route to the lakefront, parks, marina, and beaches.
In June 2022, TPL joined local partners Bike Cleveland, Joy Machines, Ohio City Incorporated, and volunteers from Cargill to host the Bike Jam at Lakeview Summerfest, a community event for residents of Lakeview Terrace in Ohio City.
BIKE JAM AT SUMMERFESTLAKEVIEW
RED LINE GREENWAY
Trails connect us in Cleveland
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TPL is exploring more opportunities to create neighborhood connectors that provide equitable access to Cleveland’s waterfront and trail system.
Communities need trails to provide equitable access to the outdoors and carbon-free transportation routes. Great trails and recreation infrastructure are key to attracting new businesses, an educated workforce, and connecting youth to the outdoors. They are also an investment in community health—both physical and mental.
© TPL STAFF
The day culminated with a guided trail ride across Wendy Park Bridge to Whiskey Island and Edgewater Park, showcasing TPL’s recent effort to connect more Clevelanders to our lakefront.
Last summer, we celebrated the opening of Wendy Park Bridge which links the Cuyahoga riverfront biking and hiking trails with Whiskey Island’s lakefront park. The 500-foot-long bridge crosses the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, and links the 101-mile Towpath Trail with Edgewater Park through the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail and the newly completed Whiskey Island Trail.
In eastern Ohio, we are working with the Trumbull County MetroParks to identify and evaluate properties that would be valuable additions to the MetroParks’ holdings, including locations ideal for hiking, biking, birding, and spending time with family. The sites include a 200-acre wooded property, a potential community forest, and a 125-acre former golf course with rolling
Public lands are essential to healthy, thriving communities. Our national parks, state forests, and other public lands inspire us with beautiful scenery, sustain us with fresh air and water, and employ us with good jobs. They enshrine our history and culture and, if we care for them, will safeguard our future from climate change.
Lake Erie is Ohio’s greatest single natural resource, which is why TPL has been working along its shore in northwest Ohio, including in Port Clinton and on Middle Bass Island, to protect this vital asset. Our wetland protection efforts are critical—Ohio has lost more than 90 percent of its original wetlands and much of what remains suffers from degradation. We are currently partnering with the Park District of Ottawa County to identify, assess, and acquire shoreline properties and coastal wetlands to safeguard critical wildlife habitat for species like the endangered American bittern and king rail, manage stormwater and prevent flooding, and improve access for future generations.
In Ohio for nearly 50 years, we have worked hand-in-hand with communities to protect the lands we all love and depend on. We expanded Cuyahoga Valley National Park, preserved cultural sites like the home of Colonel Charles Young, a Buffalo Soldier and the first Black superintendent of a national park, and we conserved open spaces across the state—from farmland to marshes, shoreline to forests.
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terrain that would make a great park with trails for observing wildlife and healthy outdoor recreation. These lands would provide a range of critical benefits from clean air and water to outdoor escapes and good jobs.
openOhio’sSafeguardingspace
PHOTOS: © KELLY FORTENER
TRANSFORMING SCHOOLYARDS INTO COMMUNITY SPACES
The solution to our nation’s park equity gap is sitting in plain sight. Greening schoolyards and opening them to the community during non-school hours would put a great park within a 10-minute walk of nearly 80 million people, including 20 million nationwide who currently lack access to public green spaces, while providing a quality place to learn and play every day for students.
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In Cleveland, we are exploring opportunities to transform school grounds into nature-rich spaces that help protect communities from extreme heat, prevent flooding, and improve health and education outcomes.
SUPPORT OUR WORK IN OHIO
© AERIAL AGENTS
TPL is committed to advancing park equity in many ways, including policy change. We helped found the Cleveland Parks and Greenspace Coalition , the first network of organizations and residents advocating for equitable public spaces that reflect community voices and values. Through the coalition, we helped convene hundreds of stakeholders to create a parks policy platform ahead of the 2021 Cleveland mayoral and city council elections. The coalition is a model for how local partners can use their collective voice to call for equitable park access and ensure elected officials make safe open spaces a priority.
and bringing our Community Schoolyard model to at least 20 new school districts nationwide—including Cleveland! Together we are connecting hundreds of thousands of people to nature and to each other, and doubling the number of districts currently benefiting from schoolyard transformations.
Today, TPL continues to guide the Parks and Greenspace Coalition as we support the City in creating more equitable park access through research and resident connections.
Mayoral candidates spoke to the coalition’s platform at a special coalition-hosted forum on parks and green space. The result: Cleveland’s new mayor, Justin M. Bibb, committed to reinstating an independent City of Cleveland Parks Department and a city-wide parks master plan.
• Help us raise $150,000 to improve access to Ohio’s shoreline along Lake Erie. With your support, we can protect this finite resource for all Ohioians to enjoy.
• Our Community Schoolyard initiative will transform neighborhood school playgrounds into vibrant community hubs. In Cleveland, nearly 1 in every 5 children does not live within a 10-minute walk of a park. With your support, we can change this. Help us raise $100,000!
Community Schoolyards™ are a low-cost, effective solution to park access that promote healthy lifestyle, reduce educational disparities, and improve educational outcomes, while making vulnerable communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. We are growing this national movement by sharing resources
COALITIONS FOR CHANGE
Parks for People
Centennial Trail
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TPL’s Land and People Lab uses evidence to increase the impact of our on-the-ground work and spark a national movement for parks and public land. We inform policies and practices, build partnerships, and share resources to expand the many benefits of nature and the outdoors. Locally, the Lab is working in Cleveland to close the park equity gap using the 10-Minute Walk Park Equity Accelerator tool.
© CHRIS BENNETT
Cleveland is one of six U.S. cities selected to participate in the Lab’s 10-Minute Walk Equity Accelerator Cities pilot project. The inaugural cohort is receiving support to address longstanding barriers to outdoor equity. The Lab’s work in Cleveland focuses on developing a plan that will help the City prioritize building and improving parks in the neighborhoods that need them most.
Brooklyn neighborhoods have the highest potential to serve new people with parks. Improving access to existing parks and building new parks in these communities would put 10,600 people, including 2,850 children, within a 10-minute walk of a park. Park investments in these neighborhoods are also expected to produce an estimated $10.1 million in economic benefits over the next ten years.
The Lab’s research shows that the West Boulevard, Clark Fulton, Union Miles, Kamm’s Corners, and Old
Accelerating park equity in ClevelandClevelandFoundation
The Land and People Lab at TPL
In February 2022, TPL hosted a workshop in Cleveland for local nonprofits that showcased the Lab’s other innovate tools, including ParkServe®, Climate-Smart Cities–Cleveland, and the Nature-based Climate Initiatives decision-support tool. The workshop highlighted resources that can help other nonprofits locate existing parks, advocate for new parks based on community health, climate, and equity needs, and build a case for funding to create a greener, healthier, more equitable future for all.
Laura Hnat Ohio Director of Philanthropy 330.730.6681 laura.hnat@tpl.org Sean Terry Ohio State Director and Associate VP 773.727.5296 Cleveland,Suite1250sean.terry@tpl.orgOldRiverRoad202OH44113 Join us We believe that everyone should have equal access to parks and green spaces. Your support makes this possible. tpl.org/donate/oh OHIO BOARDADVISORY Dylan Beach , Sustainability Senior Manager, GOJO Industries Ray Evans , Retired, FirstEnergy* Ken Howe , Retired, Cargill Karl Kleinert , Advisor, CohnReznick LLP Jenita McGowan , Manager, Global Sustainability & ESG Excellence, Eaton Christine Rupert , Managing Director at Cargill Salt, Road Safety Siu Yan Scott , Registrar at School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University Jason Wood , Manager, Corporate Responsibility, JOANN * Chair OHIO STAFF Sean Terry, Ohio State Director and Associate Vice President Laura Hnat , Ohio Philanthropy Director Kaela Geschke , Parks for People Director Kevin Joyce , Project Manager Land Protection COVER, TOP: © TPL STAFF; © CHRIS BENNETT; © TPL STAFF; LARGE: © KELLY FORTENER; THIS PAGE: © TPL STAFF THANK YOU for helping improve the health, equity, and climate outcomes for communities in Ohio and beyond. We could not do this without you.
