Some of our West Creek residents

 News from West Creek

August, 2006  
8/22/06 West Creek named Organization of the Year: On August 17, 2006, West Creek Preservation Committee was named "2006 Organization of the Year" by the Cuyahoga Valley Chamber of Commerce in recognition of its various achievements in greenspace preservation, water resource restoration and on the creation of a regional recreational trail network to connect with the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail.

Watershed Coordinator Neal Hess will accept the award on behalf of WCPC at the chamber's luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 14.

For more information about this award and to attend the luncheon, please see the Cuyahoga Valley Chamber of Commerce announcement..

8/20/06 West Creek Reservation hosts fungi hunt: On August 19, 2006, members of the Ohio Mushroom Society and others participated in a special hike called "Fungi Foray". This trip was designed to teach the basics about wild mushrooms and to build a scientific inventory of the species growing in West Creek Reservation.

You can read the full Plain Dealer article about this event here.

July, 2006  
7/02/06 Summer Volunteer Kickoff Dinner a Great Success: On June 20 West Creek Preservation Committee hosted a fun evening of food, prizes, and information for over 60 current and future West Creek volunteers. Read all about it and see some pictures here.

February, 2006  
2/08/06 West Creek Washout Update: Back in the 1960’s and 70’s, a sewer line known as the Keystone-Sprague interceptor was constructed through the West Creek Valley. A service path that crossed West Creek was cut as well at that time. In the last decade or so, with no vegetation on the service path, the flow of West Creek started to erode the stream bank where the service road crossed. Erosion accelerated when some trees fell, blocking the natural channel. Water took the easiest way out and pushed through the weak soil of under the service road. Thousands of cubic yards of soil and sediment were washed into the creek. By the end of the 2000, the entire service road was washed away, replaced by a erosion ditch that was 20 feet wide, 1400 feet long, and more than 6 feet deep in places. In addition, this erosion threatened to damage the sewer line and manholes were now in the line of storm flows.

The City of Parma and WCPC, set out on the task of restoring the original stream bank, as well as reinforcing it with such structures as soil wraps and a buried log crib. These structures are intended to hold the bank in place until plantings can take root and naturally reinforce the stream bank. The first phase of this project was completed in early March, despite some terribly uncooperative weather. A special thanks goes out to the City of Parma and especially Service Director Brian Higgins, Supervisor Tom Pahl, and the Service Department operators whose fine efforts made this important project possible.

Also contributing to this project’s success is the financial assistance provided a Coastal Restoration grant from the and ODNR Division of Coastal Management and a Section 319 grant from the OEPA. Additional phases of this project still to come once the weather is more suitable include the filling and sculpting of the washout to create the appropriate depths for the vernal pools and mini-wetlands. This will take a little less than 10,000 cubic yards of fill material (clay). Once this is complete, we will then re-vegetate the area with native plants, shrubs, and trees. At a time to be announced, we will be seeking volunteers for the planting events.

The West Creek Preserve Urban Wetlands Project Final Report contains some very specific and relevant info about the washout project.

November, 2005  
11/11/05 Brooklyn Heights Receives RTP Grant from ODNR: Congratulations to the Honorable Mayor Mike Procuk and the Village of Brooklyn Heights Council. They are the recipients of an award of $100,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Recreational Trails Program. The funding will allow the Village to continue the West Creek Greenway Trail along West Creek in Brooklyn Heights. This project will complete Phase One of a three-part project. Phase One includes a pedestrian bridge and a portion of the all-purpose trail. West Creek Preservation Committee assisted in the preparation of the application.

The process began with a planning hike of the area, which was filmed by Cox Cable and shown on Channel 45. The Village held several meetings to gather public input and also with the Council and the Village engineer Richard Allar. Mr. Allar donated a portion of his time to the project. WCPC's grant committee members: Shellie Robb, Laura McShane, Terry Stahurski, Kent Starrett, Sue Zurovchak, and Bob Greytak, compiled data for the grant.

Stay tuned for more great things to come. West Creek Preservation Committee thanks all involved and our membership for their support!

 

For previous items, please see our Bulletin Board Archives page.