MEDIA CONTACT:
BOB ROTATORI - 216-635-3263, rrr@clevelandmetroparks.com
June 21st is the summer solstice - the start of a new season and the opening of a new building!
Cleveland Metroparks, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, West Creek Conservancy and the City of Parma invite you to celebrate the opening of the new Watershed Stewardship Center and West Creek Reservation in Parma.
The official opening and special ribbon cutting is on Friday, June 21 at 10:30 a.m. at the center's entrance.
The Watershed Stewardship Center was developed through a partnership between Cleveland Metroparks, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and the West Creek Conservancy.
After the opening, all are welcome to tour the innovative center and West Creek Reservation during the �Community Discover Days� on Friday, June 21 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, June 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The free, family-friendly Community Discover Days include the following activities:
- Discover the Center's great exhibits
- View a state-of-the-art topographic map
- Tour a living roof
- See natural resources research demonstrations up-close
- Take a guided creek walk
- Plant native seeds for your future rain garden
- Shopping, refreshments for purchase, and more!
The Watershed Stewardship Center is dedicated to promoting healthy urban watersheds through science, education, research and restoration and was designed using sustainable architectural standards. Come and explore, discover and delight in the unique blend of science and technology, paired with green design and grassroots volunteer action.
Visitors can learn about local watersheds by viewing the interactive topographic map and tour dozens of water management features. The center, built on one of the largest remaining undeveloped open spaces in the county, showcases an aquarium that models a healthy Ohio stream and houses a large multipurpose room, two educational classrooms, a wet laboratory, WiFi-accessible community resource room, and provides a sustainable work environment.
The almost 18,000-square-foot building is a one-of-a-kind destination point for planners, developers, architects and other professionals to gain the information they need to do their jobs better. They can bring clients, service directors, and others to the center to see state-of-the-art stormwater management features at work.
While neighborhoods surrounding most of the nine-mile West Creek are densely developed, this 324-acre reservation preserves a valley of rocky gorges, forest-draped hillsides, floodplains and babbling brooks. The West Creek watershed has influenced settlement and development patterns for two centuries. Remnants of abandoned quarries and the comfortable homes of quarry owners can still be found in the watershed today, which drains the cities of Parma, Seven Hills, Brooklyn Heights, Independence and portions of North Royalton and Broadview Heights, before emptying into the Cuyahoga River.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of West Creek Reservation is the discovery of new urban watershed stewardship techniques. The developed and restored natural areas of the reservation are a living laboratory supplying data and demonstrating real-world solutions for stormwater and pollution control.
West Creek Reservation invites the cyclist, hiker, picnicker and birdwatcher to a varied upland and wetland landscape. Nesting birds include red-tailed hawks, wood ducks and screech owls, and migratory species such as American redstart, indigo bunting, Lincoln's sparrow and great crested flycatcher can be found there, as well.
The Watershed Stewardship Center is located at 2277 W. Ridgewood Drive in West Creek Reservation, between State and Broadview roads in Parma.
For more information, go to clevelandmetroparks.com/Main/Summer-Solstice-Opening-Events.aspx or call 440-887-1968.
Celebrate the opening of the new Watershed Stewardship Center and West Creek Reservation in Cleveland Metroparks - Discover, Enjoy, Protect!
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