Urban areas face many environmental challenges including loss of tree canopy, air and water pollution, erosion, and the legacy of industrial sites which all have impacts on urban waterways. Despite the channelized nature of Beargrass Creek, Louisvillians consider the creek to be one of the city’s biggest assets. This tributary of the Ohio River runs through much of Jefferson County and is subject to environmental stressors such as combined sewer overflows, non-point source pollution, and increased erosion and channelization due to runoff. Stream and river health are further compromised when former industrial areas are adjacent or within the watershed. How does a city repurpose these sites while ensuring water quality and stream health? And how does community input shape the future of these sites?

In Louisville, two former landfills have been repurposed for the public good with varying degrees of success. Limitations on what can be planted, where plantings can take place, and how they will be maintained results in challenges to restoring natural systems to provide ecological benefits. This walking tour will explore sites where ecological restoration has been used to enhance the water quality near former landfills, including the Waterfront Park on the Ohio River, the current police impound lot on Beargrass Creek, and a future botanical garden between the two.

This tour will meet at the Convention Center to take a bus to the first site followed by a 3-mile walk which will end close to the Convention Center.