INVESTING IN THE HEALTH OF THE DOAN BROOK & UPCOMING STREAM BANK RESTORATION

In 2025, the Nature Center worked with environmental engineers and scientists to finalize a stream bank restoration design that will go to construction around the second week of February 2026 and will last approximately 4-8 weeks. Our team will host workshops, talks, and tours as the project takes shape. Stay tuned for more details.

Why is this project necessary?

Our team recently collected data on many of the above metrics, and determined it is imperative to reconnect our waterway to the floodplains and increase the overall stream health throughout the Nature Center property. Culverted streams and stormwater runoff from the surrounding development has caused erosion. Lakes and dams along the Doan Brook also impair the normal sediment transport, creating a net loss of sediment (i.e. staring stream) downstream. Aggrading sediment accelerates bar development and lateral erosion, which is one of the primary issues creating concern within the Nature Center property as each branch of the Doan Brook nears the lake/wetland.

To combat this, we are proud to announce our team has leveraged $500k in public funds from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District that are earmarked for sitewide erosion control and strategies for ecological enhancement throughout the property. This will restore the stream banks on our property and reconnect the floodplain, with a design that accounts for the increased intensity of storms that climate change models are projecting.

  • Stormwater retention and storage in our wetlands
  • Bioremediation of pollutants before flowing into Lower Shaker Lake
  • A reduction in sedimentation from the restoration of the erosion issues
  • The protection and enhancement of the aquatic habitat for the flora and fauna of the property
  • Removal of invasive species populations, specifically along the north branch and the lake impoundment, and installation of stream habitat structure which includes native plant species

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