What was once a Montgomery eyesore is now a vibrant greenspace that helps protect water quality. It also helped the Capital City capture a prestigious award from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The agency honored Montgomery with a regional “Rain Catcher” award for Fairview Park, a new, four-acre oasis in the heart of the city.

For decades the site on West Fairview Avenue near Interstate 65 was essentially a catch basin for trash and pollution that flowed into Genetta Ditch, a major tributary of Catoma Creek.

But with support from multiple partners, including Alabama Power, Southern Company and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the city has transformed the former brownfield into a community asset.

Fairview Environmental Park in Montgomery

Fairview Environmental Park in Montgomery

Fairview Environmental Park in Montgomery

The park not only provides walking paths and public spaces. It also features constructed wetlands that help to filter urban runoff before it flows into Catoma Creek. Interpretative signage also makes the part an educational destination. They tell the story of the creek, the park’s environmental benefits, and the nearby neighborhoods that played an important role in the development of the city’s African-American community and the city’s civil rights history. The park is along the route taken by voting rights activists during the historic, 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery March.

EPA praised the park for its use of innovative “green infrastructure” to keep trash out of the creek and improve water quality. That infrastructure includes a rain garden, carefully chosen plants and trees, permeable paving stones and a stormwater storage system that helps to control and filter polluted runoff after large rain events.

EPA also noted the extensive cleanup of the site that preceded the park, which included removing industrial pollution and an old, leaking underground storage tank.

Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean (left) and Mayor Todd Strange (right)

“We thank the EPA for recognizing our city’s newest greenspace, but the credit should go to our entire community for joining in the journey to create a sustainable city,” Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said in a news release.

The park project brought together a broad coalition of local businesses, multiple government organizations, nonprofits, and neighborhood and community groups, the news release said.

“This park not only provides scenic beauty to neighborhoods along the Voting Rights Trail for residents throughout Montgomery, but it will purify and protect our watershed for years to come. It’s another vital step in reclaiming our community’s abundant natural resources, while expanding our revitalization efforts along West Fairview,” Strange said.