PITTSBURGH, PA (September 14, 2021) Mayor William Peduto announced today a $433,000, two-and-a-half year grant from the National Recreation and Parks Association for the Greenways Partnership Program. This grant was received and will be administered by the OnePGH Fund in close partnership with the City of Pittsburgh to enhance the city’s 1,200-acre network of greenways.
The City will be using the funding to develop a model for public-nonprofit-community partnerships to maintain and improve greenways for residents and visitors through the Greenways for Pittsburgh program. Pittsburgh will receive ongoing technical assistance, professional development and access to networks of like-minded park and recreation professionals throughout the country.
“Greenways provide essential green space to help build strong, healthy and resilient communities,” said Mayor Peduto. “This grant provides the City the opportunity continue to build on over 30 years of community-led stewardship to ensure that our stewards have the resources to improve greenways, our greenways continue to get the attention they deserve and our communities have access to enjoy them.”
The grant funding will be administered to the OnePGH Fund to work towards goals outlined in Greenways for Pittsburgh, managed by the Department of City Planning. The City has long relied on unfunded volunteer stewardship groups to assist in the maintenance of the greenways, so the model will include expanding and empowering a network of community stewardship groups to work with the City to identify areas of need and improvement in greenways and creating a menu of partner organizations and contractors to conduct restoration and access work. Additionally, the OnePGH fund will hire a greenway contractor to make the program financially and ecologically sustainable through preservation and restoration carbon credits.
The program will expand on the work started by an ongoing pilot program for the Hazelwood Greenway, funded by the Trust for Public Land. The City is working with community partners to identify projects and priorities for restoring the greenway to a safe, high-quality and ecologically healthy green space. Their community partners include Landforce for trail maintenance, Allegheny GoatScape for weed management, Tree Pittsburgh for restoration planting and the Hazelwood Initiative for community events and engagement.
To learn more about the work on the Hazelwood Greenway and the framework for the Greenways Partnership program, visit the project’s EngagePGH page.
About the ONEPGH Fund
The ONEPGH Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all Pittsburghers. The Fund exists at the confluence of local government, business, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector. The ONEPGH Fund advances civic initiatives through collaboration between sectors to address Pittsburgh’s most complex challenges.
Inspired by the City of Pittsburgh’s first ONEPGH Resilience Strategy, the ONEPGH Fund helps to create partnerships between local government and residents by leveraging the power of the Pittsburgh community. The Fund selects projects based upon the ability to leverage public and private resources, foster cross-sector collaboration, encourage innovation, and demonstrate measurable impact. Learn more here.
About the National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. With more than 60,000 members, NRPA advances this mission by investing in and championing the work of park and recreation professionals and advocates — the catalysts for positive change in service of equity, climate-readiness, and overall health and well-being. For more information, visit www.nrpa.org. For digital access to NRPA’s flagship publication, Parks & Recreation, visit www.parksandrecreation.org.
About The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Millions of people live near a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year. Read more here.
