Parks are not perks — they are essential infrastructure for healthy, connected, equitable, empowered communities. And because not everyone has equal access to nature, we’re working first with communities that have historically been denied green space — among so many other kinds of social capital. The Trust for Public Land released research that will help the City of Cleveland prioritize building and improving parks in the neighborhoods that need them more. The findings also illustrate the economic benefits these additional parks could have for the community.
In October 2011, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park—the tenth most visited in the United States—grew by 578 acres thanks to the efforts of The Trust for Public Land, the National Park Service and Blossom Music Center.
Connecting three University of Toledo campuses and numerous parks and trail systems, the Chessie Circle Trail project will convert an 11-mile long railroad corridor into a hiking and biking trail.
In Cleveland, The Trust for Public Land worked with Saint Luke’s Foundation and the Healthy Eating & Active Living (HEAL) initiative to bring three Fitness Zone® areas to the east side communities of Buckeye, Larchmere, and Woodland Hills.
The first segment of the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail, the "backbone" of the Cuyahoga-Lake Link, was dedicated in August 2015. Soon Northeast Ohioans and visitors will be able to ride their bikes along the beloved Towpath Trail from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park all the way to Lake Erie.
TPL and the Stark County Park District (Stark Parks) are working with a private landowner to permanently preserve this 323-acre resource for a public park
The 90-acre Gateway Property contains the longest natural stretch of the Cuyahoga River within the boundaries of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, providing important wildlife habitat and resource protection.
The Trust for Public Land and Belpre Township have protected the 67-acre Baker Farm property along the Little Hocking River in Little Hocking, Ohio. The property includes open fields, mature forests, a small stream, a cave, ponds, and approximately 800 feet of river access to the Little Hocking River.
The Trust for Public Land is helping to create an infrastructure of parks and protected lands throughout the entire Ohio & Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor.
