Great Parks completes $13M Shaker Trace Nursery expansion

Great Parks has completed a more than $13 million renovation and expansion of the Shaker Trace Nursery at Miami Whitewater Forest, adding new greenhouse and seed storage facilities, restoring a historic barn and expanding public access to one of Ohio’s largest native seed nurseries.

The nursery produces more than 200 native plant species adapted to local soil and climate conditions. Great Parks uses the seeds and plants to restore prairies, wetlands, meadows and rain gardens across Hamilton County, where the agency manages more than 18,000 acres of land.

The project added a new greenhouse to expand plant propagation and a climate-controlled seed storage and processing facility aimed at increasing seed production capacity. Other work included renovating the site’s 1880s drying barn into a year-round educational and event space while preserving its original wood beams.

Great Parks will welcome community leaders to the nursery Thursday for a special event.

“People look to Great Parks for conservation leadership, and the renewed Shaker Trace Nursery shows conservation in action,” Great Parks CEO Todd Palmeter said in a statement. “From preserving native plant species that are critical to our ecosystem, to providing hands-on environmental education unique to our region, the Shaker Trace Nursery is a unique Great Parks gem that we are very proud of.”

Project origins and expansion goals

Construction on the project began in late 2024 as an $11 million effort to expand the nursery’s ability to grow and process native seeds for restoration projects while creating more opportunities for public education focused on native plants and ecology. Great Parks said the final cost for design and construction exceeded $13 million.

Seeds harvested at the nursery are used at all 22 Great Parks sites across Hamilton County. The nursery, founded with seed collected within 100 miles of Miami Whitewater Forest in the early 1990s, produces plant varieties adapted to the region’s soil and climate.

Great Parks also added a new half-mile trail connecting the nursery to the 7.8-mile Shaker Trace Outer Loop Trail through nearby prairies and wetlands. Officials said the nursery was designed as a net-zero energy facility powered through on-site solar panels and a geothermal system. Great Parks is also pursuing LEED certification through the U.S. Green Building Council.

During construction, Great Parks also worked to preserve a colony of brown bats discovered in the old barn. The agency built a separate enclosure inside the structure so the bats could continue living there while remaining separated from visitors.

Funding for the project came from Great Parks capital funding supported by voter-approved levies, including the 0.95-mill levy approved by Hamilton County voters in 2021, along with contributions from the Millstone Fund, the Sutphin Family Foundation, the Louise Taft Semple Foundation and an anonymous foundation.