Green Space + Parks
The great outdoors + beer + community = one compelling equation. That’s the basis for Mappy Hour, a new network of adventure and travel enthusiasts who are passionate about the outdoors, maps, guidebooks, and physical activity.
Nearly a dozen nature and science organizations receive support from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, and they provide an integral foundation for exploring the county’s rich variety of resources—from the Great Lakes Science Center on Lake Erie’s coast to suburban nature centers, downtown community gardens, and grassroots nonprofits.
The vision for Cuyahoga Greenways would connect every community in the county through a network of greenways, trails, parks, transportation routes, and neighborhoods. A joint plan between the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACCA), and the Cleveland Metroparks, the project has entered its second phase with officials asking for public input on the concept and initial plans.
Feel like going for a hike? How about canoeing, horseback riding, or even a round of golf? Of all the natural resources available for play in Cleveland, residents are lucky enough to have one of 69 national parks right in their own backyard with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP).
All of these activities—and much more—can be found in the 33,000 acres that make up the park, which boasts the heart of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, an area rich in industrial history and rife with natural wonder. The CVNP is the only national park in Ohio, with the closest national park at least a four-hour drive from Cleveland.
In early January, the CVNP will break ground on a new $5.9 million visitor center to welcome the two million people who visit the park annually. Get the details here.
Let it snow, and let it glow and sparkle. That’s what the Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) elves have in mind this week as they busily prepare Public Square for the holidays and the upcoming Winterfest on Saturday, Nov. 25.
Decorating is already in full swing, but will officially kick off today, Tuesday, Nov. 14, with the arrival of the holiday tree. The evergreen, donated by the Hlavin family, makes its debut on the north end of Public Square around 2:30 p.m.
Read more about the tree and Winterfest here.
Decorating is already in full swing, but will officially kick off today, Tuesday, Nov. 14, with the arrival of the holiday tree. The evergreen, donated by the Hlavin family, makes its debut on the north end of Public Square around 2:30 p.m.
Read more about the tree and Winterfest here.
In another step forward on the Irishtown Bend project, The Port of Cleveland and NOACA applied for a federal $11.5 million Infrastructure For Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant earlier this month. The grant would install bulkheads and stabilize 1,400 linear feet of the hillside along Irishtown Bend and save maritime commerce along the Cuyahoga River from shutdown if the hill collapses.
Read more about the grant application and what it means for Irishtown Bend here.
Read more about the grant application and what it means for Irishtown Bend here.
Ohio's largest homeless shelter just became more of a home. On Saturday, Nov. 4, more than 50 volunteers and organizers gathered at 2100 Lakeside—the men’s homeless shelter run by Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM)—to build a gazebo on land donated by the Cuyahoga Land Bank at 2138 Lakeside Ave. and clean up the surrounding neighborhood.
Read more about their efforts here.
Read more about their efforts here.
Our latest events listing includes a legit tribute to the Fab Four, an all-night horror movie marathon, a vibrant Day of the Dead celebration in Gordon Square, and more. See what's on tap for the rest of October here.
Some may think the end of summer may spell an end for enjoying Lake Erie, but this scrappy group of Cleveland surfers is just getting started.
“Buckeye trees rooted to Woodland Hills / water flows as cascading streams / Lake Erie awaits clean raindrops” reads a passage of Dawn Arrington’s poem, which will be inscribed on a wall along E. 104th Street within the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s (NEORSD) Buckeye Green Infrastructure project.
Set for completion by January 2018, the project is part of Project Clean Lake—a 25-year plan to reduce pollution in Lake Erie by four billion gallons per year. Learn about the public artists involved in the project here.
More than 500 eco-minded enthusiasts will converge on the Cleveland Public Auditorium this Wednesday 9/27 and Thursday 9/28 for the ninth annual Sustainable Cleveland Summit (presented by the Cleveland Foundation). A keynote by The Nature Conservancy CEO Mark Tercek will put an exciting cap on what’s been dubbed "The Year of Vibrant Green Space,” while the conference will also position 2018 as “The Year of Vibrant Neighborhoods.”
Trending topics at the summit will include implantation of the Cleveland Tree Plan, green jobs, sustainable neighborhood projects, and climate change (and how to combat it via the Cleveland Climate Action Plan). The Cleveland Metroparks will also be providing whirlwind water taxi tours of Cleveland, while the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District will show attendees the green infrastructure in place at Public Square. At the end of each day, a post-Summit reception will offer up ample networking and noshing opportunities. Click here to register or get more 411 on this zero-waste event.
Trending topics at the summit will include implantation of the Cleveland Tree Plan, green jobs, sustainable neighborhood projects, and climate change (and how to combat it via the Cleveland Climate Action Plan). The Cleveland Metroparks will also be providing whirlwind water taxi tours of Cleveland, while the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District will show attendees the green infrastructure in place at Public Square. At the end of each day, a post-Summit reception will offer up ample networking and noshing opportunities. Click here to register or get more 411 on this zero-waste event.
World Water Monitoring Day attracted a high-profile visitor to Northeast Ohio: Philippe Cousteau, grandson of famed explorer Jacques Cousteau. Together with local environmentalist James Trogdon, Cousteau led a group of 150 students from four area schools in testing the water quality of the Cuyahoga River.
Tomorrow Public Square will be the safest place in town, thanks to a free self-defense event being sponsored by Mace (which is headquartered in Cleveland). Safety Town CLE will offer hands-on training and product demos, along with tips and talks by safety and security professionals—including a former Secret Service agent and a Cleveland woman who was inspired to start her own self-defense practice after being shot. Food trucks and music will also be part of the event, as well as free product giveaways. The Safety Town CLE event takes place from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm in Public Square. More details can be found here.
The ever-evolving Towpath Trail now includes a small but mighty quarter-mile stretch from Sokolowski's University Inn to Hart Crane Park (near Merwin's Wharf) with a passageway under the Inner Belt Bridge.
A new 17-acre green space is coming around the proverbial bend, and the Plain Dealer says it has the potential to take Irishtown Bend from "weed-infested wasteland" to "one of the most spectacular urban parks in the Great Lakes." After much anticipation, finalized plans for the Irishtown Bend project are being unveiled this week—a joint effort of LAND Studio, the Port of Cleveland, the City of Cleveland, and Ohio City Inc. Key proposed components range from a treetop canopy walk to the Ohio City Farm to a maritime promenade, as well as a "history and ecology zone."
Join designers Michael Baker International and CMG this Thursday 8/31 for a public meeting during which attendees can view and provide feedback on the plans. The meeting will be held at 5:30 pm in the St. Ignatius Breen Center in Ohio City (2008 W 30th St, Cleveland, OH 44113). Admission is free and all are welcome. For more information, please contact Carrie Miller at cmiller@ohiocity.org.
Join designers Michael Baker International and CMG this Thursday 8/31 for a public meeting during which attendees can view and provide feedback on the plans. The meeting will be held at 5:30 pm in the St. Ignatius Breen Center in Ohio City (2008 W 30th St, Cleveland, OH 44113). Admission is free and all are welcome. For more information, please contact Carrie Miller at cmiller@ohiocity.org.
The Associated Press called it "the most-observed and most-photographed eclipse in history," and Edgewater Park certainly played its part in that—attracting thousands of Northeast Ohioans for a lively lakefront watch party.
Record-breaking amounts of visitors have made their way to Cleveland in recent years, and Travelocity has taken notice—ticking off 13 reasons why it's "obsessed" with Cleveland. (Just 13? We've got at least seven more to add.) Usual suspects like Public Square, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame lead the list, along with tasty trips to the West Side Market and that oozing-with-charm popcorn shop in Chagrin Falls. See which other attractions made the list here.
New Day Cleveland devotes an entire episode to our city's Emerald Necklace as it turns 100 years old this July.
There's a whole campaign underway to bring the Forest City back to life. Here's the story of the foot soldiers in that effort—trees raised to green up our urban neighborhoods.