Mission Statement

Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek is a private nonprofit organization created in 1994. Its mission is to serve as catalyst for developing sustainability in the Mill Creek watershed through community-based planning and empowerment, environmental education, and economically sound ecological restoration. Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek accomplishes its mission by:

Creating Greenways Along Mill Creek and Its Tributaries

Greenways are linear corridors of open space with trees and other vegetation that connect people and places together and wildlife with their habitat. When greenways are created along rivers, they provide many benefits for people and places. For example, greenways can include hike and bike trails that provide recreation, improve the environmental condition, as well as create alternative transportation opportunities.

From 1997 to 1999, Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek led the creation of the landmark Mill Creek Watershed Greenway Master Plan, working in partnership with more than 150 community groups and organizations to complete it. Now Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek is working with local governments, businesses and citizens to implement pilot greenway projects that will help to improve water quality and ecosystem health, stimulate economic revitalization, and contribute to the quality of life for Mill Creek watershed neighborhoods and suburban communities. All of the pilot greenway projects will become part of future vital, living corridors within the Mill Creek watershed. Each greenway site will connect to other greenspace and trails in southwest Ohio and support development of an envisioned 28-mile greenway trail beginning in Butler County and ending at the confluence of Mill Creek and the Ohio River.

In 2004 Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek planted the first Mill Creek Freedom Trees Grove in partnership with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Paul Hemmer Companies.  Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek has made the commitment to plant ten thousand native hardwood trees along Mill Creek and its major tributary streams over the next ten years.

Providing Environmental Education and Training

Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek sponsors ongoing opportunities for interdisciplinary environmental education and technical capacity building for people who live and work in the watershed. Every year, Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek works with more than 1,000 middle and high school students and their teachers, providing a variety of classroom and fieldwork experiences. Since 1994, Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek has organized dozens of fieldwork events along the river that provide "hands on" training for students, civic volunteers, and nearby residents, property owners and businesses. In addition, Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek provides paid on-the-job training for inner city residents and has provided pollution prevention technical assistance and funding for small businesses in the Mill Creek Valley. Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek is also the publisher of a book on the environmental history of Mill Creek titled "The Mill Creek: An Unnatural History of an Urban Stream."

Restoring Water Quality and Other Natural Resources

Everyone deserves rivers and streams where there is safe fishing and swimming. Groundwork Cincinnati - Mill Creek serves as a steady advocate for environmentally sound and cost effective ways to achieve flood damage reduction, recommends state-of-the-art, environmentally-sustainable maintenance and management of the Mill Creek riverine system, and encourages the ongoing regeneration of these natural resources. 

groundworkcincinnati.org
http://groundworkcincinnati.org
1617 Elmore Court, Cincinnati, Ohio 45223
(513) 731-8400 telephone    (513) 731-8404 fax