What's Happening in Westlake, OH…

Several Fairview Park groups are working together to help restore Coe Creek. A new project to restore the stream, which flows through the city, was made possible by cooperation and coordination among several groups.

The Rocky River Watershed Council, the Cuyahoga County Soil and Water District, the city of Fairview Park itself, the Fairview park Green Team, and the ‘Stream Team’ (a group of 13 students from Fairview High School who are members of a class in environmental science) are behind the initiative. The groups together form the Coe Creek Streambank Restoration Project, which is fully funded by an Ohio EPA grant.

Matt Hrubey, who is a member of the Green Team, a grant writer, and the city's development administrator, notes that the project started when he wondered what the city could do to improve the ecosystem and environment of the creek. From the point of view of Fairview Park, Hrubey says, it is about maintaining an environment that remains balanced, healthy, and natural, and that provides functioning space for recreation.

Some of the goals of the restoration effort are to repair 170 feet of eroded banks, plant 200 native shrubs and trees in order to make the stream borders greener, and restore connections so there is better access from the creek to the floodplain.

The city might consider working with a flyer printing company to create a mailer for residents, explaining the project and asking them to join the effort.