A hidden gorge is becoming a green oasis for Cleveland’s East Side

Ideastream Public Media | By Richard Cunningham

Doan Brook Park is a few blocks north of Shaker Square, near the Cleveland-Shaker Heights border.

I’m not the biggest hiker and my attire shows that. I’m wearing a button-up shirt and sneakers instead of a rain jacket and hiking boots.

Gnats and mosquitoes are buzzing through the thick, humid air. The ground is caked in mud and sludge from the last rainfall. Each jagged tree branch and smooth stone on the path present an opportunity to slip and fall. The sky is gray and cloudy, ready to open up with more water, but the exploration begins.

Today’s tour guides are Greg Van Niel and Mindy Kuth, two members of the Doan Brook Watershed Partnership, a collection of local organizing groups and individuals with a common mission to preserve the park’s biodiversity. Both are also part of a small team responsible for restoring Doan Brook Park and making the trails more appealing to would-be explorers.

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