Making a difference at Millcrest

On June 26, help a Norwood teen make a difference at Lower Millcrest Park.

Diana Ferra Villalobos, a Norwood resident and senior at Mount Notre Dame Academy, is organizing a clean-up of Lower Millcrest Park from 9 a.m. to noon June 26. Norwood Together and Keep Cincinnati Beautiful are supporting the project.

To help, all you have to do is show up!

Here’s an essay Villalobos wrote about why she decided to clean up Lower Millcrest:

The Meaning of Millcrest
By Diana Ferra Villalobos

The one planet that allows us to live is deteriorating. Unfortunately, I did not come to that conclusion until I saw the effects of it.

In 2020, our world was turned upside-down, especially with COVID-19 and quarantining.  However, we must not forget the tragic wildfires in California that had taken many souls and homes. From the moment I saw the skies turn grey, the birds fly away, and the trees turn to ashes, I knew that our only home was being destroyed. I want a better, more beautiful earth for us all. This is why my project focuses on Millcrest park.

 I moved to Norwood in December 2019, but it wasn’t until this year that I frequented Millcrest. It was also this year that I attended my very first clean-up (also at Millcrest), and it came to my attention that there is a lot more garbage than I expected. I went to this clean-up and had to move around the roots and plants just so I could reach a can of Sprite. I believe that my family and I spent around three hours there, but we couldn’t get everything. I don’t want it to be that way anymore.

I want us to walk around Millcrest freely without having to see a bag of chips, cans, or beer. Not only is this dangerous for the little ones, but it also harms our plant life. The space that the garbage is taking up could have been for flowers, but now it is reserved for plastic debris. However, that can change. We can change that, which is why this project is so important to me. Not only are we taking initiative, but we are also creating space for new life to grow. The earth has allowed us to survive, I am simply hoping we can return the favor.

Continue ReadingMaking a difference at Millcrest

Summer fun in Norwood

There are so many opportunities for spending time with your family and fellow Norwood neighbors this summer. If you would like to get outside, get involved, or hangout, Norwood Parks are where all the action is this year! 

Find out more about the events listed below and other Norwood happenings at your Ward Community Council meeting. Each Ward Community Council meets on the last Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. The next meeting is May 27. Location information is on the Norwood Together Facebook page.

June 

6:30 pm June 4: Fridays on the Lawn: Food Trucks, Victory Park
8:30 pm June 11: Fridays on the Lawn: Movie Night, Victory Park
9 am June 19: Off Pike Market, Victory Park
9:45 am June 19: Lindner Park Volunteer Day
7 pm June 24: Ward Community Councils
5:45 pm June 25: Lindner Park Volunteer Day
6:30 pm June 25: Fridays on the Lawn: Concert, Victory Park
7 pm June 25: Shakespeare in the Park, Northwoods
9 am June 26: Lower Millcrest Park Clean-Up

July

6:30 pm July 2: Fridays on the Lawn: Concert, Victory Park
8:30 pm July 9: Fridays on the Lawn: Movie Night, Victory Park
6:30 pm July 16: Fridays on the Lawn: Concert, Victory Park
9 am July 17: Off Pike Market, Victory Park
7 pm July 22: Ward Community Councils
6:30 pm July 23: Fridays on the Lawn: Food trucks, Victory Park
6:30 pm July 27: Norwood Day Parade, Montgomery Road
10 am-7pm July 28: Norwood Day at Coney Island
6:30 pm July 30: Fridays on the Lawn, Victory Park
7pm July 31: Shakespeare in the Park, Dorl Field

August

6:30 pm August 6: Fridays on the Lawn: Food trucks, Victory Park
7pm August 13: Shakespeare in the Park: Romeo & Juliet, Upper Millcrest Park
8:30 pm August 13: Fridays on the Lawn: Movie Night, Victory Park
6:30 pm August 20: Fridays on the Lawn: Concert, Victory Park
9 am August 21: Off Pike Market, Victory Park
7 pm August 26: Ward Community Councils

Continue ReadingSummer fun in Norwood

Norwood Clean-Up Week is March 20-27!

The goal: Get our city ready for a spring and summer of fun! The week includes several city-wide, volunteer Clean-Up events, opportunities for you and your neighbors to work together to get rid of winter mess. Here’s the schedule: 

  • Montgomery Road Clean-Up: 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20; meet at City Hall to get supplies.
  • Knothole Baseball Field Clean-Up: 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20; meet at Dorl Field.
  • Lower Millcrest Cutting Party: 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 24; volunteers will be cutting out invasive undergrowth; bring gloves, saws, and loppers, if you have them. 
  • Citywide Parks Clean-Up: 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 27; meet at your favorite park and bring gloves and yard tools (rakes, etc.) if you have them. 

During the week, we hope you will take the opportunity to clean up around your own house and neighborhood. Pick up yard waste bags (FREE!) from the Norwood Health Department, 2059 Sherman Avenue. Report potholes or other issues to Public Works with the city’s new See, Click It, Fix It! app. Go on a litter walk with your family.

LITTER WALK CONTEST
And here’s your chance to win that $50 Lowe’s gift card. During Clean-Up Week, go on a litter walk in your neighborhood and take a picture of you and the trash you pick up. Post that picture on Norwood Together’s Facebook page. Every photo is one entry in a raffle. On March 27, we’ll pick a winner. 

Watch our Facebook page and this newsletter for more updates on Norwood Clean-Up Week. 

Continue ReadingNorwood Clean-Up Week is March 20-27!

New Floral micro-park thanks to you

Norwood has a new place for neighbors to gather, and walkers and bicyclists have a new rest stop on their way to or from Wasson Way.

Jon Moore, with help from neighbors and a $500 Wasson Way Mini-Grant from Norwood Together, installed a micro-park at the corner of Hudson and Floral avenues this fall. Read Jon’s reflections on the project here.

Wasson Way Mini-Grants are meant to encourage experimentation, build leadership, and bring people together.  And that’s exactly what Jon’s micro park has done already. Dozens of residents donated to this project, which includes two benches, a trash can, two trees, and a large garden bed. Neighbors, including a handful of children, came together to install the park, and some of them will be helping Jon with maintenance of this new community space.

Funding for the Wasson Way Mini-Grant program came from Norwood residents who wanted to encourage their neighbors to use the biking and walking trail, and make it easier for people to access Wasson Way, which runs along the south end of Norwood. From beginning to end, the micro park at Floral and Hudson is a community project — one resident’s idea, supported by the work and generosity of his neighbors. It’s a wonderful thing to see. Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen!

Continue ReadingNew Floral micro-park thanks to you

New Welcome Bags ready thanks to OTO Supply Co.

Thanks to OTO Supply Co., we’ve upgraded our Welcome Bags for new residents.

OTO donated cloth tote bags to hold all of the information and goodies we stash inside Welcome Bags so that new residents have all the information they need to settle into Norwood. Everything in the bags is donated, and volunteers assemble the bags so they’re ready for anyone who needs to welcome a new neighbor.

Request a Welcome Bag for your neighbor here.

Here are the organizations and individuals who have donated coupons, information or other items for the Welcome Bags:

  • OTO Supply Co.
  • Jennifer McGillis
  • Greene’s Florist
  • New City Presbyterian Church
  • Boy Scouts
  • Norwood Business and Professional Women’s Club
  • Azalea Montessori
  • Cappy’s
  • Listermann’s
  • The Valley Church (a coupon for Angilo’s Pizza!)
  • Gem of The Highlands 5K
  • ASAP Norwood
  • Moriah Pie
  • Created Designs by Susan

Thank you to everyone who has donated goods or time so far! If you would like to donate items for the Welcome Bags, email norwoodtogether@gmail.com.

Continue ReadingNew Welcome Bags ready thanks to OTO Supply Co.

Hunter Park Clean-Up volunteers beat the rain

Thank you to all the volunteers who came out in July for the Hunter Park Meet-Up Clean-Up Eat-Up.

We got a lot of work done before the storm rolled in, and many of us enjoyed a supper of AJ’s Cheesesteaks, which is always a good idea. Thanks to the city for working with us on this project! We’re making plans now for another clean-up at Hunter and more events at other parks.

Let us know if you want to help!

Continue ReadingHunter Park Clean-Up volunteers beat the rain

Your donations at work: Wasson Way

You raised more than $2,500 in the fall of 2019 to improve Norwood’s section of Wasson Way and encourage residents to use the walking/biking trail that runs through the south end of our city. Working with Wasson Way and listening to residents’ requests, we used your generous contributions to purchase trash cans and dog waste stations for the trail.

Thanks to volunteers Jeanne Sickinger and Collin Loch for installing the stations!


Continue ReadingYour donations at work: Wasson Way

Free Creamy Whip cones on July 21!

Like so many Norwood residents, we love the Norwood Day Parade and were sad when it was, understandably, canceled because of Covid-19. We want to give people something else to look forward to this summer. So, on July 21, Norwood Together is giving away FREE cones at Creamy Whip! 

The first 100 people to visit Creamy Whip that day during normal hours and mention Norwood Together will get a free ice cream cone. 

Continue ReadingFree Creamy Whip cones on July 21!