Doing More with Less in Ohio

Long recognized for its work to protect Lake Erie, the Old Woman Creek Reserve is now serving as a regional catalyst for bringing people together and building community capacity to restore and protect the lake and its tributaries for the long term.

“Many northeastern Ohio communities want to improve water quality, restore streams and wetlands, and strengthen their resilience to flooding and erosion,” says Janice Kerns, Reserve manager. “What they often lack is technical support and the capacity to move complex projects from concept to reality.”

To help address those needs, the Reserve has partnered with Chagrin River Watershed Partners (CRWP) and the Central Lake Erie Basin Collaborative (CLEBC), a network of organizations working across 16 counties and nearly 200 watersheds. Together, they are supporting communities that want to plan, prioritize, and implement restoration projects throughout the region.

Rather than focusing on a single project “finish line,” their approach works to strengthen community capacity to do this work over the long term. Through peer-to-peer learning, technical assistance, and coordinated planning, local watershed groups and municipal governments are sharing lessons learned, refining project ideas, and building confidence to take on complex restoration work.

Training is a cornerstone of this effort. In partnership with the Reserve’s Training and Engagement Program, CRWP and CLEBC have delivered workshops and webinars on topics ranging from project prioritization and restoration budgeting to land acquisition, community engagement, and lessons from large-scale infrastructure projects. They’ve hosted five training sessions, reaching approximately 160 participants from watershed groups, park districts, consulting firms, and local agencies.

“Our organization is currently working on a Climate and Coastal Resilience project,” says Sharon Spruill with the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition who participated in the April 2025 Stream Restoration Training. “The information provided in the training will help me better understand things to look for as we are planning out our projects.”

This investment in people is already translating into on-the-ground progress across the central Lake Erie basin. Communities are advancing stream and wetland restorations, nature-based shoreline projects, dam removals, and land conservation efforts that improve water quality, reduce flooding risk, and expand public access to nature. Equally important, these projects are being shaped through partnerships that prioritize equity, community engagement, and long-term stewardship.

“This partnership with the Old Woman Creek Reserve has been wonderful,” says Keely Davidson-Bennett, Director of Special Projects at CRWP. “They have been invaluable with sharing feedback and connecting CLEBC members with state and federal agencies and regional organizations.”

“The planned training for 2026 will focus on closing data and knowledge gaps in wetland and fisheries monitoring,” says Kerns. “This need became clear through feedback on grant proposals from state and federal agencies that require science-based decision-making when evaluating and prioritizing grant funds. We aim for these trainings to fill both technical and data gaps by working with and strengthening the capacity of on-the-ground partners.”