Innovation Guide 2023 - Cover3

Innovation in Conservation
Meadowdale Beach Park and Estuary
Restoration Project - Snohomish County
Parks and Recreation, Snohomish,
Washington
The restored estuary serves as sustainable rearing habitat for juvenile salmon, crucial
for the Puget Sound food web and endangered Southern Resident orcas.
A railroad embankment built in the 1800s separated
many historic estuaries and creeks from
area beaches and Puget Sound. This marks the
first Puget Sound restoration project and is an
initial step toward strategic restoration of the
entire railroad embankment. To restore the
connection, 130 feet of the embankment and an
undersized culvert were removed and replaced
with a railroad bridge. An accessible walkway
was built under the bridge for visitors' safe passage
to the beach. The restored estuary serves as
sustainable rearing habitat for juvenile salmon,
crucial for the Puget Sound food web and endangered
Southern Resident orcas.
Innovation in Park Design
Unity Park - City of Greenville Parks, Recreation and Tourism,
Greenville, South Carolina
Unity Park, located in the City of Greenville, was designed to protect the
Reedy River, establish new public connections and create more open space
to balance the city's growth. The 60-acre, $66 million park contains eight
acres of wetlands, a 10,000-square-foot welcome center, three state-of-theart
playgrounds, a 4,100-square-foot splash pad, basketball courts, 12 acres
of green space, a network of walking trails totaling 2.5 miles and three
pedestrian bridges. Park planning also included the creation of affordable
workforce and senior housing on eight acres of land, as well as joined what
was historically two separate parks - one for Black patrons and one for
white patrons.
Unity Park was designed to protect the Reedy River, establish new public connections
and create more open space to balance Greenville, South Carolina's growth.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY OF GREENVILLE PARKS, RECREATION
AND TOURISM
Advertiser Index
EP Climbing .......................................................................................... 2
Greenfields Outdoor Fitness .............................................................3
Landscape Structures, Inc. .............................................................C2
Shade Systems .................................................................................... 5
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | 2 0 2 3 INNO V AT ION GUIDE | Parks & Recreation
C3
PHOTO COURTESY OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION

Innovation Guide 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Innovation Guide 2023