It's a sunny April day at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Greg Peckham stands near the pedestrian bridge next to the Boston Mills Visitor Center. The Cuyahoga River flows under the bridge, a bird sings in the background. It's a moment to reflect on his first nine months as President and CEO of the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
鈥淭his first few months have been a lot about just sort of soaking it up and learning about what makes this place so special,鈥� Peckham said.
The Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the fundraising partner for the Northeast Ohio's 33,000-acre national park, handling philanthropy, volunteerism, educational programming, events and retail operations at CVNP.
Peckham has a background in urban planning with a focus on connecting people to green space. Before coming to the conservancy, he served as executive director of the Cleveland-based nonprofit Land Studio, supporting the creation of accessible parks in the Greater Cleveland area.
It鈥檚 been a productive first few months of shifting his focus to Cuyahoga Valley National Park specifically, he said.
鈥淲hile it's very different in terms of working in urban parks in Cleveland," Peckham said, "the experiences that are trying to be created here are actually very consistent with that, and it's part of what drew me to come work here.鈥�
Peckham said the conservancy has a strong framework established by former CEO Deb Yandala who spent more than two decades in the role, pushing for expanded environmental education and increased public awareness about the park and all its amenities.
鈥淭hat is another thing that really opened my eyes coming to this job," Peckham said. "When we are with other national park leaders around the country, and you say that you're from Cuyahoga Valley, people's eyes open and they start paying attention. That's because of what Deb created.鈥�
That legacy has allowed him to shift focus to his own list of priorities.
Among the items at the top of his agenda is the park鈥檚 Oxbow Meadows project; 213 acres formerly known as Brandywine Golf Course that CVNP is transforming into protected, publicly accessible green space.
Peckham calls the site 鈥渁 park within a park鈥� that supports native habitats, protects natural resources and promotes public access like most other CVNP sites.
鈥淲e think that that's a chance to elevate the design and the experience," Peckham said. "Not just in our national park, but if we do it right, [at] national parks around the country ... we have the chance to sort of raise the bar.鈥�
Oxbow Meadows, which opens this summer, will join the list of completed projects that distinguishes CVNP, and Peckham said he wants to lean into these differences.
鈥淭he fact that you can get in a canoe or a kayak and you can float down the river," he said. "This is the only national park that has a working railroad line in it, period. You can go to a working farm in this national park, and you can see a concert. Those are things you can do all within one national park in one day.鈥�
In light of National Park Service layoffs early last year and a limited federal budget for National Parks, Peckham says this approach will help to solidify CVNP as an asset in Northeast Ohio.
鈥淥ur job is to make the case for how important this place is to the social, the economic, the environmental health of our region," he said. "I see this as less about playing defense and more about playing offense for how we make sure that the elected officials, the civic leaders, the community really recognizes how valuable it is to have a place like this in Northeast Ohio.鈥�
Accessibility will remain a priority as the park continues to develop, Peckham said, simply because CVNP should be easy to find and navigate for people from Cleveland to Akron and all of the gateway communities in between.
"So, thinking about how you walk that line of a place that works for everyday users, but also is special for people who maybe are just coming and passing through," he said. "That's been something I think that has been a real eye-opener."
Whether someone is visiting for the first time, or returning to a favorite spot, Peckham said he hopes visitors will continue to explore Cuyahoga Valley National Park and find new ways to fall in love with it this season.
