County’s park system re-emphasizing recreational activities in outside spaces by adding and ending programs, faces critics
Great Parks of Hamilton County is on a mission—to refocus itself on its mission. While that means that some of the park system’s programming is going away, it also means new programs and activities for park-lovers.
The black clouds of the COVID-19 pandemic offered at least one silver lining: Many organizations assessed the products or services they offered, how they delivered them and whether they made sense to consumers.
At the same time, Great Parks had just finished its first-ever Comprehensive Master Plan in 2019, another reason to review its offerings.
The park system’s mission statement is “To preserve and protect natural resources and to provide outdoor recreation and education in order to enhance the quality of life for present and future generations.”
The key word is outdoor.
“It is part of our master-plan priorities,” Rachel Doellman, Great Parks chief of marketing and brand strategy, says. “We need to be putting our resources into getting people outside, not bringing them indoors. COVID was a big eye-opening, ‘aha’ experience about all of the value added when you are spending time outdoors.”
Visitors flocked to the parks after the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020. In 2019, the parks hosted 4,238,477 visitors. That number rose to 4,922,624 in 2020 and 4,905,794 last year. So far this year, through August, Great Parks has registered 4,446,181 visitors.
The Comprehensive Master Plan identifies eight priorities and sets the vision for the parks’ operations through 2028. Great Parks has been busy this year on several projects.
Music Garden at Glenwood Gardens
A Music Garden is being built at Highfield Discovery Garden within the 335-acre Glenwood Gardens, 10397 Springfield Pike. The garden will include a stage for self-directed and sensory play. The stage will be surrounded by five music stations and will include a collection of high-quality outdoor percussive musical instruments, such as double-sided chimes and a tung drum.
The garden area is shaped like a treble clef, Doellman says. “It’s a unique way to play outside—a fun way that integrates nature into play. Again, we’re just trying to push families and kids to go outside rather than being inside, which is what our indoor playgrounds were doing.”
Early this year, Great Parks said it secured a $150,000 Ohio Department of Natural Resources NatureWorks grant that makes up the bulk of the 70% in grants and donations received for the $400,000 total cost of the Music Garden project. The project is expected to be completed by spring 2023.
“We have a time-lapse camera—we’re going to be sharing footage of progress on it,” Doellman says.
Meanwhile, “Highfield Discovery Garden is back in full operation, post-COVID,” Tracie Sergent, guest relations senior manager, says. “I took my 13-year-old grandson there, and he had a great time. It is designed as a discovery garden for children, so there’s different vignettes throughout the garden—there’s a train area, there’s a big treehouse, there’s a fairy garden, a butterfly garden. What’s fantastic about it is that things are always changing and growing, and they are teaching kids that some of the gardens that they plant are food, so they’re growing food and teaching kids about growing food.”
Beechmont Bridge Connector
Great Parks in September opened the Beechmont Bridge Connector, a half-mile link connecting multiple trail systems throughout Greater Cincinnati.
The $7.9 million connector, funded by state, federal and Great Parks’ capital project funds, is a stretch that connects to the existing 78-mile Little Miami Scenic Trail terminus near state Route 32. It allows trail users, from pedestrians to bicyclists, to safely travel from the Little Miami Scenic Trail to the Ohio River Trail.
The connector also crosses over the Little Miami River on a new bridge extension adjacent to the eastbound lane of the Beechmont Avenue Bridge. The trail turns north under Beechmont Avenue and passes through a new tunnel under the state Route 32 westbound ramp to Beechmont Avenue, where it connects to the Little Miami Scenic Trail. It joins four existing or planned trail systems that would otherwise end at the Beechmont Avenue Bridge. Great Parks collaborated with the city of Cincinnati and the Ohio Department of Transportation on the project.
“The connector will be a major leap forward in our growing regional trail system, enhancing multi-modal transportation options and bringing us all closer together,” Todd Palmeter, CEO of Great Parks, says. “In our Comprehensive Master Plan, the public’s top priority for Great Parks is trail expansion and connections. We are thrilled to address that priority with this crucial addition to the buildout of our trail network.”
Maps, artist drawings and more information about the Beechmont Bridge Connector are available at the website.
Holidays on the Farm
Great Parks decided to no longer host the Holiday in Lights, a popular drive-through light show at Sharon Woods, after more than 30 years.
The move was received with disappointment. Organizers of Holiday in Lights moved the event to Armco Park in Warren County this year after an effort to keep the event at Sharon Woods, including a change.org petition that garnered more than 3,500 signatures.
In its place, Great Parks now will offer Holidays on the Farm at Parky’s Farm in Winton Woods, providing guests a new way to celebrate the winter holidays. Outdoors.
“The amazing increase in park visitors the past couple of years has reinforced to us how much the community values the wellness benefits of exploring outdoor spaces,” Palmeter says.
Holidays on the Farm will offer lighted nature trails in the woods, hayrides, caroling, pony rides, meet-and-greets with Great Parks animals, a beer garden and photos with Santa. The event will be open 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday through Dec. 11 (except Thanksgiving Day) and then each day from Dec. 15 through Dec. 23. Parky’s Farm is at 10073 Daly Road.
Parky’s Farm Updates
For those wondering about children’s birthday parties at Parky’s Farm—which were halted during the pandemic: “We are taking a look how we can do those differently,” Sergent says. “Quite frankly, we have not recovered from the staffing shortage. We have had challenges being able to produce those birthday parties, with the interactive play and that sort of thing.”
The indoor Parky’s Playbarn also was closed during the pandemic and will not reopen—not only because of the focus on outdoors activities but also because the barn would need significant updates.
Sharon Woods Playground
Adventure Station, the indoor playground at Sharon Woods’ Sharon Centre, was closed with the onset of the pandemic and will not reopen.
Instead, Great Parks has begun planning for an upgraded outdoor playground that will be about twice the size—or several thousand more square feet—of the current playground outside. The design work, with the public providing input, is expected to be completed by next summer, and construction would start shortly thereafter.
The 730-acre Sharon Woods is the oldest park in the Great Parks system. The new playground will be west of the Pavilion Grove picnic shelter, with access to Sharon Centre.
“They’ve had public sessions where the kids can chime in on what they’d like to see and play on,” Sergent says. “It has really been a cool process. All of the changes that we’re making really tie in to our mission, first and foremost, but our master plan as well.”
Adds Doellman: “Outdoor play is central to our mission. It’s integral to transitioning kids to exploration outdoors. It’s a really intentional shift to try to put resources toward this goal rather than putting more capital and resources toward getting people inside.”
