Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Mueller.
Hi Claire, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Great Rivers Greenway’s story started back in 1996, when business and civic leaders created St. Louis 2004, a nonprofit to bring a renaissance to the 12-county bi-state region. More than 10,000 people were polled, 1,200 people participated in visioning sessions, and action teams established major goals, including one for Parks and Open Space, working with existing agencies and nonprofits. The Clean Water, Safe Parks and Community Trails Initiative proposition called for 1/10th of one cent sales tax to generate more than $20 million each year in Missouri with revenue split evenly between improving local parks and developing the regional network of greenways. On November 7, 2000, Proposition C passed in St. Louis City, St. Louis and St. Charles counties in Missouri and in Madison and St. Clair counties in Illinois.
That vote sparked a movement to build accessible, vibrant outdoor spaces that improve daily life. Since 2000, the average community member has invested less than 50 cents per month (around $6 per year) toward the network of greenways and parks to make the region even more connected, resilient, and competitive. In 2025, GRG celebrated 25 years of turning community input into collective impact with a greenway system that now features 140+ miles of paved pathways that bring neighborhoods together and give people safe places to walk, bike, run, and roll.
GRG is one of the only greenway projects in the United States that spans three counties and 120 municipalities, demonstrating a rare and sustained level of regional cooperation. Since the beginning, our approach has always been to work with the willing; we only build where communities want greenways! Public engagement is priority in our process; we know communities are the experts on their neighborhoods and their investment and ownership are crucial to long-term success. The feedback and input of each community guides every individual greenway and thus shapes the larger regional connections we’re building. We embrace the diversity of our region and aim to create inclusive public spaces and processes with and for all.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Far more than just paved trails, greenways are gathering places and community hubs. Caring for these vital spaces across a service area about the size of Rhode Island is no small feat, so we’re lucky to have such wonderful community members and partners! The greenways are planned, built, and stewarded through partnership. These wonderful partners, such as municipalities, campuses, counties, or state agencies who own the land handle maintenance and day-to-day care, set greenway rules and hours, issue permits, and provide law enforcement.
Our partnerships to take care of the greenways vary, just like our partners do. To ensure all greenway visitors have an excellent experience no matter the resources in that area, we support our partners where possible with our own staff, vendors, and volunteers to take care of the greenways in an equitable way. Bringing them to life involves planning programs and events to invite people to use and enjoy these spaces, also done in partnership with local schools, nonprofits, businesses or community groups. From free yoga to beginner birdwatching, there’s always something going on along the greenways.
We’ve been impressed with Great Rivers Greenway, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Over the past 26 years, the greenways have fundamentally changed our region by allowing everyone connected, healthy options for getting around, but have also provided an example of how much can be accomplished through successful government collaboration and transparent, inclusive public participatory processes.
Opportunities to connect with the outdoors have been shown to result in increased physical activity, improved cognitive function, better cardiovascular health, decreased stress, and improved mental health. Abundant trees and plants, like those along the greenways, have helped to reduce air pollution and urban noise, as well as providing relief from high temperatures.
Our mission is making the community’s vision for a more connected region come to life, and to do that, hearing the input and guidance of the people throughout the project’s lifecycle is imperative. We host open houses with project partners like cities and counties, offer surveys on projects to the community, provide open lines of communication for feedback, and prioritize working with the willing.
A region connected by greenways is able to thrive because of civic trust, shared vision, transparency, and equity. We can’t wait to see what the future brings for Great Rivers Greenway and the St. Louis region!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://greatriversgreenway.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatriversstl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatRiversGreenway
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greatriversgreenway/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/greatriversgreenway
