TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo Public Schools and Metroparks Toledo broke ground Wednesday on a new bike trail, from Hawkins Elementary School through the Toledo Botanical Garden.
"Partnerships like this just bring a wealth of opportunities for our students as well as this community. To be able to know that you're paying taxes, but at the same time you're getting the education and wildlife experience in the Metroparks system," said TPS superintendent Dr. Romules Durant.
By creating trails like the one that will go in at Hawkins, both the school district and Metroparks Toledo believe they are really taking advantage of what the community has to offer.
Metroparks Toledo executive director David Zenk says this is purposely blurring the lines of ownership. In doing this, they're creating connections and educational experiences for generations to come.
"There's many benefits and reasons to do that, but one of the great reasons that we're here to celebrate is this intentionality that we're using to connect both the neighborhoods, but also students into these great natural resources," said Zenk.
Eventually, the bike path will cover the entire perimeter of the botanical garden, Hawkins Elementary and the TPS Natural Science Technology Center, according to the executive director.
It's a project that's been in the works for at least two years and is, what they say, is just the beginning.
"This is something that's going to be modeled in many other areas to come. Just to be able to see education as well as our resources like metroparks coming together," said Durant.
Both Zenk and Durant say at the end of October they'll have more on how they're creating connections for the community.