How GLRI and CHEERS are Transforming Cleveland's Coast

Discover how federal funding and community action are transforming Cleveland’s urban lakefront into a thriving, accessible coastal wetland.
About this Event

About the Tour

This community conversation and restoration tour is a living case study that demonstrates how partnerships, policy, and people power create healthier communities and stronger ecosystems through community-led coastal access.

It demonstrates how the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) fixes foundational ecology so local communities can safely reclaim their waterfronts. This community conversation and restoration tour will take place at a site located at the intersection of federal environmental policy and community resilience.

Participants will get a front-row view of a live transition from a degraded urban lakefront into a high-functioning coastal wetland. We will explore how these investments lay the groundwork for braided funding models, and community-led coastal access.

What You Will See & Learn

• Nearshore Habitat Restorations: See the waters directly adjacent to the IYC docks that benefited from GLRI funding to track aquatic invasive species, perform targeted removals, and implement submerged structures to protect native fish.
• The Future of CHEERS: Look out into the open harbor to see the future footprint of the Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy (CHEERS).
• Infrastructure & Ecology: Learn how the upcoming project will mitigate harsh wave action rebounding off steel bulkheads, replacing inhospitable waters with a protective, 3.85-million-cubic-yard "Habitat Loop" island system using clean dredge material.
• Braided Funding in Action: Discover how partners are leveraging cleaner water conditions achieved by GLRI, alongside ODOT infrastructure and NFWF resilience dollars—including over $1 million in federal funds allocated this year.

Visible Landmarks: Gordon Park Nearshore Habitat & Boat Ramp (visible directly from the site)

Host/Partner Organizations: Black Environmental Leaders Association (BEL), Healing Our Waters Great Lakes Coalition

As a proud project partner, BEL highlights the critical geographic and cultural relationships shaping community-led coastal access along Cleveland's lakefront.

Boxed Lunch provided.

Agenda

🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Arrival, Sign In and Boxed Lunch
🕑: 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
Welcome, Panel Discussion and Q & A
🕑: 12:15 PM - 01:00 PM
Walking Tour - wear comfortable walking shoes and weather appropriate clothes