The Champions for Village Creek Greenway

Vil­lage Creek is steeped in Birmingham’s his­tory, serv­ing as the water source for a boom­ing steel indus­try that gave birth to a city that rose like magic from a sim­ple cross­roads com­mu­nity. Unfor­tu­nately, with the rise and sub­se­quent decline of the steel indus­try, Vil­lage Creek and the com­mu­ni­ties along its banks have strug­gled with the adverse impacts of their indus­trial her­itage. Pol­lu­tion, socio-economic decline, and aban­doned indus­trial sites are some of the many prob­lems that this water­shed faces today.

Canoe trip down Vil­lage Creek

How­ever, there is hope. The Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust has expe­ri­ence in help­ing belea­guered water­ways. Now, we have a plan to help the peo­ple, com­mu­ni­ties, and busi­nesses along Vil­lage Creek develop a series of parks and green­ways designed to improve not only water qual­ity, but also qual­ity of life.

The Fresh­wa­ter Land Trust has gath­ered together com­mu­nity, non-profit, city and busi­ness lead­ers who are work­ing together to trans­form Vil­lage Creek into a com­mu­nity asset. This group, called the Cham­pi­ons for Vil­lage Creek Green­way, is direct­ing efforts to cre­ate a sys­tem of green­ways, parks and trails that will improve the water qual­ity and the qual­ity of life for res­i­dents in the Vil­lage Creek watershed.

Vil­lage Creek is a major trib­u­tary of the Black War­rior River, part of the Mobile River Basin. The Mobile River Basin is con­sid­ered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser­vice as one of the most imper­iled drainages in the con­ti­nen­tal United States, and it is crit­i­cal for con­serv­ing fresh­wa­ter bio­di­ver­sity. Improv­ing water qual­ity in Vil­lage Creek is cru­cial to halt­ing the decline of both the Black War­rior River and the larger Mobile River Basin.

Improv­ing con­di­tions along Vil­lage Creek will not only result in cleaner water, but it will also help trans­form the lives of the peo­ple who live along its banks. The Cham­pi­ons for Vil­lage Creek will reverse the decline of Vil­lage Creek, and in turn, leave our grand­chil­dren a legacy of hope and renewal. Learn more about the Cham­pi­ons for Vil­lage Creek.