New picnic tables, mulch and freshly planted plants in front of 30th Street and Decoursey Park in Latonia. Photo by Nathan Granger

Did you know there’s a park on 30th Street and Decoursey Avenue in Latonia?

Samuel Greenhill, neighborhood resident and librarian at the new Latonia branch of the Kenton County Public Library, didn’t know at first, but once he found out, he realized there was a ton of potential.

“I was going on a walk with a friend, and during our walk, we ended up walking down to this place that I didn’t realize there’s a park there,” Greenhill told LINK nky, “I remember just being like, ‘Wow, this would be such a cool neighborhood revitalization thing to bring about.'”

Greenhill has since made it his mission not only to spread the word about the park but also to revitalize it as a sanctuary for native plant species.

“I want to bring the community together where they all feel responsible for the park,” Greenhill said. “It’s not just a city park, but it’s something that we can all take care of together.”

Shortly after learning about the park, Greenhill gathered a group of people from the neighborhood to apply for a $4,500 grant from the city, initiating the process of revitalization. Luckily, they won the grant, although “there’s a lot more work to do,” according to Tyler Bennett, a neighbor and volunteer who’s been helping Greenhill with trash cleanup, plant growing, and general labor.

A challenge that emerged immediately was how to revitalize the soil. The park is prone to flooding, including sewer run-off, which can have the effect of depleting nitrogen and other nutrients from the soil. Greenhill was able to assess the soil quality with the help of the University of Kentucky’s Kenton County Extension Office.

A flooded 30th Street and Decoursey Park. Photo provided by Sam Greenhill.

“Good soil needs to be slightly acidic, and so I have to bring back that acidity somehow,” Greenhill said. “So, a lot of what’s gonna be happening is me mulching and then letting all this fertilizer and mulch sit to just allow the soil to start to change.”

Another challenge was clearing out all of the invasive species that had taken root, mostly in the form of winter creeper and Japanese honeysuckle.

Cleared trees and vines from 30th Street and Decoursey Park. Photo by Nathan Granger | LINK nky

Many of the native species he wants to reintroduce to the area, Greenhill said, are hardy and flood-tolerant. Greenhill and other volunteers have already begun clearing out the invasive flora to make room for the native plants, most of which Greenhill plans on planting in the fall.

  • A monarch butterfly on a swamp milkweed. Photo provided by Derek Ramsey via Wikimedia Commons.
  • A buttonbush flower. Photo provided by Ryan Hodnett via Wikimedia Commons.
  • River cane. Photo provided by David J. Stang via Wikimedia Commons
  • A purple passion flower. Photo provided by John Flannery
  • A bald cypress sapling planted at 30th Street and Decoursey Park. Photo by Nathan Granger | LINK nky

Plants he’s eyeing for the future are milkweed, – which have the added bonus of attracting monarch butterflies – buttonbush and bald cypress. He’s already planted some river cane and some passion flower vine. All of the plants are native to North America. Eventually, Greenhill would like to install signs with educational information about the different plant species, as well as a new sign to make the park’s entrance more obvious.

Use the slider to compare the park entryway’s current state to what it will look like after the new sign is installed. Images provided by Nathan Granger and Sam Greenhill, respectively. Note: The sign in the second picture has been digitally superimposed.

The city has removed an old metal fence, and there’s an old, damaged white plastic fence, as well, that Greenhill wants to eventually replace with a wooden fence. A little library has also been installed in the park, and Greenhill’s team has added some new picnic tables, too. Dale Puffenberger, who lives nearby, said the tables are already getting traffic.

“The neighborhood’s looking forward to it because there are families that picnic down there,” Puffenberger said, especially on holidays like Memorial Day and Independence Day. Puffenberger has been aiding the effort by allowing Greenhill and his team to store mulch and supplies on his property.

“A lot of people couldn’t even tell it was a park,” said Jim Gardner, who’s been helping Greenhill clear out some of the invasive species as well as some of the tree cover near the park’s entrance.

“It seems like the more we work on it and the cleaner we get it, it seems more people are coming around,” Bennett said.

“I want the park to be a very much open-ended project, where everyone can feel like they can collaborate,” Greenhill said. “If one neighbor wants to bring over a plant and then plant it in the ground themselves, they’re free to do that; they’re welcome.”

“Hopefully, it can be a nice little community area because we don’t really have anything in this area of Latonia,” Bennett said.

Want to get involved? Contact Sam Greenhill at samuelcgreenhill@gmail.com.