Over one hundred years ago, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. envisioned the Saw Mill Run stream corridor as a “green boulevard” of open space to protect against flooding and to serve as a valuable public asset for the Pittsburgh region. In his vision, the stream corridor could be a lush landscape traversed by Saw Mill Run and enjoyed by the region’s residents. Unfortunately, this once verdant stream corridor is now plagued by frequent flooding, daily traffic congestion, and haphazard development patterns. In 2022, with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Watersheds of South Pittsburgh embarked on a 2-year process to develop a Master Site Development Plan for the Saw Mill Run corridor. The final plan was accepted by the City of Pittsburgh's Planning Commission in March 2024. Watersheds of South Pittsburgh is seeking input and participation in developing a cohort of community leaders to promote and facilitate implementation of the projects identified in the plan.

Beginning on Thursday, October 30th, Watersheds of South Pittsburgh will host the Saw Mill Run Task Force Training Workshops each week through November.

The first 4 sessions will be on Thursdays from 6:15 - 7:45pm, with a light meal provided. These 4 sessions will be in Beechview. with the locations to be determined before the first meeting. Two Saturday field activities will take place at key sites along the stream. The first field activity will be a macroinvertebrate sampling on Saturday, November 8th at Ansonia Place. The second activity will be a stream cleanup at Seldom Seen Greenway on November, 15th. The final workshop will be an overall review and wrap-up of the process for a total of 7 sessions.

Our Kick-off workshop, held on October 30th, 2025, will be focused on Saw Mill Run as a Watershed and Community. We will discuss what a watershed is and the unique aspects of the Saw Mill Run Watershed and the impact that over 100 years of disinvestment has had on the stream and its neighborhoods. Content on the final sessions will be provided at the kick-off.