October 25, 2023

Families across northeast Ohio now have a new Cleveland Metroparks’ playground to visit along the Lake Erie shoreline. Surrounded by autumn leaves beginning to turn color, the new nature-inspired recreational equipment is nestled into Huntington Reservation in Bay Village.

Just ahead of the public’s rush to the new attraction, several FirstEnergy employee volunteers spent a recent crisp, fall day sprucing up Huntington Beach and the surrounding park to ensure the space looked its best and was safe for the public and wildlife.

Employee volunteers pruned plants to remove old growth to promote new growth and re-flowering next season, while others collected and removed trash from the beach to beautify the area and prevent animals from ingesting the garbage.

“The Metroparks are one of the most valuable assets to the Cleveland area, and it’s important that we give back to this organization when we can, especially since it’s in the heart of FirstEnergy’s service area,” said Benjamin Krembs, engineer, Generation Services, who organized the Oct. 6 clean-up event. “Not only is Huntington Beach a beautiful walking beach, it offers a great picnic shelter and a brand-new playground for children and families to enjoy for many years.”

Beyond the addition of the new playground, the Metroparks’ Huntington Reservation is the lakefront home to an extensive variety of Ohio wildlife. Three miles of nature trails at the park pass through a variety of habitats ranging from forest, creek and meadow.

Led by FirstEnergy’s Green Team in northeast Ohio, the Huntington Beach clean-up event is one of several projects employees will complete this year to help nearby parks, nature preserves and communities across FirstEnergy’s entire footprint.

“We all have an ecological footprint, and it feels good to contribute to the environment and try to lessen that footprint,” said Krembs. “It’s rewarding to our employees to be able to get out in our community and make a difference where we live and work.”

FirstEnergy and the Green Team in northeast Ohio have a long history of supporting the Cleveland Metroparks. Over the past three years, we’ve donated more than 5,000 trees to the organization, and hundreds of employee volunteers have spent countless hours planting them across various parks.