In 2012, the Burning River Foundation of Cleveland, Ohio awarded the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership a $10,000 grant to demonstrate freshwater conservation and public education. It was one of seven grants awarded, totaling $58,000, that supported Northeast Ohio organizations and individuals working toward the sustainable future of local freshwater resources. The Partnership secured additional funding from the Shaker Lakes Garden Club, receiving their only award above $1000.
To create the Greenscout Rain Gardens at Ashbury Avenue, the DBWP partnered with the five local organizations, plus the City of Cleveland and Hawken School. Goals of the project were to increase public access to the Doan Brook Corridor and promote green infrastructure as a sustainable solution to urban runoff. The completed Greenscout Rain Garden will not only manage stormwater onsite, but it will set a design standard for the neighborhood as it develops. Educational programming was provided by the Natural Areas staff from the CMNH, increasing and deepening the impact of a new community resource for Glenville youth.
Project Accomplishments:
- A conservation easement on two parcels of vacant land to protect them from future development.
- Filter strip planting of two lines of native trees along Ashbury Ave., one inner and one outer, to provide shade, fruit, wildlife benefits, color and stormwater filtration.
- Construction of one rain garden and one “green street” bioswale to increase stormwater filtration and purification Removal of invasive species from the site.
- Incorporation of existing community plans and a youth arts-gardening project, currently operating on the vacant land through the Greenscouts program, led by Julie Patton.
- Six classes of watershed and natural history educational programming from the Natural Areas staff of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
“The DBWP is enthusiastic about the Greenscout Rain Garden Project because it’s so grass-roots driven and holds the potential to strike all chords of sustainability, including economy, society and, of course, environment,” stated DBWP Executive Director Victoria Mills. We are grateful for the participation and support of the Burning River Foundation, Famicos Foundation, Shaker Lakes Garden Club, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, City of Cleveland, Hawken School, and the Greenscouts.