Photo by Monte Costa

Remember what three things determine home value? Location, location, location. People would rather live near a park than a polluted property. As a result, neighbor-hoods with parks are usually desirable, and neighbor-hoods near dangerously polluted sites are usually poor and neglected. Those neglected communities cannot recover until the polluted site is cleaned up. If the property is then converted to an attractive park, it becomes an asset, not a liability.

Audubon is now joining local agencies across the country to spur neighborhood revitalization efforts that are stalled because of polluted properties. The plan is to clean up the sites and convert them to parks with Audubon Centers that offer nature education programs for the community.

San Antonio's 1,200-acre Mitchell Lake site is a good example. The property, which for years was a sewage drain field, is now a bird and wildlife sanctuary. For the past decade the San Antonio Water System and local groups have worked to improve Mitchell Lake and the surrounding lands. In 2004 a historic house was moved onto the property, restored, and opened as the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center.

Then there's southwestern Dallas, where a contaminated landfill along the Trinity River was acquired by the city, then sealed, capped, and revegetated. Through a partnership with Dallas, a new Audubon Center will be located on 100 acres of parkland behind the site, and serve as a gateway to the 6,000-acre Great Trinity Forest and an extensive network of hiking, biking, and nature trails.

The Rio Salado (Salt River) once ran through the heart of Phoenix, but after dams virtually eliminated the flow, the riverbed became a dumping ground for old tires, appliances, and other litter. Today a consortium of groups is restoring the property as part of a program to revitalize the city's south side. The 500-acre park will have 15 miles of trails, plus the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center.

In Columbus, Ohio, a key part of the city's downtown river redevelopment plan involves cleaning up a 160-acre former industrial site known as Whittier Peninsula. Part of the site will become residential and light commercial, and part will become a park. The entrance facility for the park will be an Audubon Center that will offer nature education programs as well as career opportunities for local residents.

Until recently the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver was one of the country's most contaminated sites due to the World War II production of chemical weapons and later the commercial production of pesticides. Now, after decades of cleanup, much of the property is part of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Some 917 acres of the original property were recently purchased by the adjacent community of Commerce City to be developed as the Prairie Gateway Project. The city and Audubon have teamed up on a business plan and feasibility study for a potential Audubon Center to serve inner-city neighborhoods.

Strong communities need a healthy environment, and vice versa. Audubon is working with our partners to restore some of our most polluted sites while bringing back some of our most neglected communities. To find out how you can help, go to www.audubon.org .