What is a Greenway?
Greenways are linear open spaces, including habitats
and trails, which link parks, nature reserves, cultural features or
historic sites with each other, for recreation and conservation purposes.
Greenways are designed to: 1) provide recreational opportunities,
2) preserve and increase wildlife habitat, 3) link existing historical,
cultural and environmental features, and 4) strengthen and support
communities by promoting interaction.
Green Ways Initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeastern
Michigan (2001)
In our Fall 2000 issue we wrote about the River Raisin Greenway Project’s
(RRGP) receipt of a grant from the Stubnitz Foundation to explore
greenway possibilities in the Adrian, Tecumseh and Clinton areas (the
RRGP is made up of the cities of Adrian and Tecumseh, the Village
of Clinton, and the townships of Clinton, Raisin and Tecumseh). In
April 2001 Landscape Architects & Planners, the consultant hired
by the RRGP, completed the River Raisin Greenway Study Master Plan
after a series of public meetings. The study is intended to be used
as a tool to guide the participating communities in funding and developing
the River Raisin Greenways. The introductory paragraph about greenways
adds a few more specifics to the previous definition:
Greenways include natural and man-made corridors linking
nature reserves, recreation areas, schools and cultural features to
populated areas. Natural corridors include rivers, streams, and their
tributaries; while man-made corridors include road right-of-ways,
utility easements, abandoned railroad beds, and active railroad right-of-ways.
In summary, greenways bring open space closer to the people allowing
for recreational experiences that would otherwise not be available.
The RVLT’s Role
The trails and greenways envisioned by the RRGP would pass through
the natural areas and farmlands that surround our homes and communities.
The RVLT’s mission of preserving open space, and the RRGP’s
mission of providing access through those areas are complementary.
In nature this is called symbiosis. With this issue of our newsletter,
we hope to encourage property owners and those who use the trails
to consider the value of contiguous green or open space. We may find
that some property owners are willing to take the initiative to preserve
their land, as Virginia Murray did (page 1); in other cases the community
may recognize the special value of certain properties and raise funds
to purchase them (or easements on them). In either case, the RVLT
is willing and able to help.
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