Celebrating Civic Engagement on the Mill Creek
at the 2025 Canoes & Community Event
Nestled in the heart of the I-75 corridor along the West Fork Mill Creek, we find two communities working together to recognize the Mill Creek as a natural and community asset.
The Beautiful Village of Woodlawn is known for its cozy atmosphere, caring neighbors, and diverse population. With easy access to Glenwood Gardens, a prevalence of shops and a thriving business district, and a motto of “Building a community one person at a time,” it is easy to see why Woodlawn residents love living in the Village.
The City of Wyoming is a welcoming, safe, and diverse community for its residents and its visitors. Its small-town charm offers opportunities to interact with neighbors, strengthen friendships, and cultivate new ones,including its neighbors in Woodlawn.
In an effort to bring stakeholders together to talk about the opportunities the Mill Creek offers to our region, Mill Creek Alliance has been holding an annual event called Canoes & Conversations in different watershed neighborhoods since 2019. Guests are invited to learn about the watershed and discuss the social, economic, recreational, environmental, health, and transportation benefits of the Mill Creek’s pedestrian and water trails. With canoe trips, bike rides, nature walks, youth activities, keynote speakers, and a free lunch, this event provides something for everyone!
Inspired by Mill Creek Alliance’s annual event, Woodlawn and Wyoming decided to host their own Canoes & Community celebration of the Mill Creek as a community asset in July 2025. Collective work by Woodlawn Council, Woodlawn Public Works and Recreation departments, City of Wyoming Council, Wyoming Public Works and Recreation departments, Mill Creek Yacht Club, and the US Army Corps of Engineers is what made this event such a success, and showcases what we can accomplish by taking partners and working together.
It took coordinated efforts from both communities over several months to plan all of the details for the day. Woodlawn built a brand new access ramp to the stream in anticipation of this event, which helps to fill a much needed gap in municipal investment in stream access infrastructure on the Mill Creek. Also, the City of Wyoming’s Public Works department worked with a private contractor to remove a large log jam from the creek to ensure a clear passage downstream.
On a beautiful Saturday morning, Woodlawn and Wyoming welcomed residents to join them for a free 1.2 mile canoe ride on the West Fork Mill Creek. They started their journey just south of Glenwood Gardens and Riddle Road, and paddled down to North Park in Wyoming. From there, guests either walked or rode bikes back to the Woodlawn Community Center. There were so many eager guests that two canoe trip runs were needed to accommodate everyone! Other activities for the day included a scavenger hunt, free lunch provided by Pop-A-Dog and WADA Italian Ice, and a dance performance by the local Global Water Dancers. With 75 attendees and 61 paddlers on 2 trips down the stream, we can certainly call this event a triumph!
For the first time, we saw two communities plan their own celebration of the value of having access to the Mill Creek in their backyards. Woodlawn and Wyoming are also active members of the Mill Creek Collaborative, a comprehensive working group moving the plans forward for the implementation of the Triangle Trail. An extension of the Mill Creek Greenway Trail, the Triangle Trail will connect 12+ municipalities and townships, 3 Great Parks of Hamilton County, and close to 197,000 total residents, to the CROWN trail network in the region.
The success of this event makes it clear that when we invest in the power of community and value of our natural resources, we can truly make lasting change. Community engagement transforms environmental stewardship from an individual act to a powerful collective movement. Ultimately, [it] fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility. When people feel connected to their environment, they are more likely to protect it, [and to] become stewards of the land, not just users of it. (cite)
For the past 30 years, Mill Creek Alliance has been working to improve water quality, habitat, and natural stream function in the Mill Creek, which has resulted in an urban stream restoration success story. We see this as a model for watershed communities to continue to work together in creative partnerships to engage their residents, steward their natural spaces, foster social cohesion, and celebrate their natural assets. Mill Creek Alliance thanks Woodlawn & Wyoming for their partnership and celebration of the stream, and will continue to work to support and uplift community efforts to make the Mill Creek a valuable public resource.
~ Blog written by Beth Himburg, Mill Creek Alliance Staff