Cincinnati Conservation Stewards

Cincinnati is lucky to have a beautiful parks system featuring forested parks that provide access to nature within city limits. The CGC has partnered with Cincinnati Parks and the Cincinnati Parks Foundation to restore and manage our natural park spaces for the benefit of both people and wildlife. The result is Cincinnati Conservation Stewards (CCS), a volunteer training program focused on restoring public parks and preserves. Our approach is to train volunteers to help with each step of the restoration process. The program aims to engage the community in the process of restoring urban forests in the hopes of inspiring the next generation of park enthusiasts.

The Need for Action

Many of Cincinnati’s parks are overrun with invasive plants, like Amur honeysuckle, that negatively impact the quality of the forest both aesthetically and ecologically. Yet like many land-owning entities, Cincinnati Parks does not have the capacity to manage the thousands of acres in its care.

Through the CCS program, volunteers are trained on plant identification, proper removal techniques, leading fellow volunteers and using tools such as iNaturalist to document the flora and fauna they find in their park. They are then able to help manage public greenspaces within the Cincinnati Parks system by removing invasive plants, recruiting and leading other volunteers at restoration sites, replanting native plants, and monitoring sites over time to ensure cleared areas are not taken over again by invasive plants.

The Program’s Roots

The CGC’s role is to provide education and helps establish best practices for volunteers to follow when working in the field—practices we’ve developed through trial and error at our Walnut Woods of Evanston restoration site. Since 2018, CGC staff and volunteers have spent thousands of hours at Walnut Woods removing invasive plants and planting native plants and trees. Through this process we were able to develop a unique volunteer-driven approach to restoring urban forests. The CCS program was inspired by our work at Walnut Woods and by other groups who have been working to restore and maintain valuable urban forests for decades. 

Getting Involved

You can get involved by signing up to volunteer with Cincinnati Parks today! You can also check out the CGC’s Greenspace Guardians program, a certification that offers a deep dive into local conservation efforts and how you can become a leader within them. Or you can reach out to our Conservation Program Manager, Sam Settlemyre, to learn more: ssettlemyre@civicgardencenter.org