Briarcliff Trails of Our Community recently signed a contract with Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation to adopt the Briarcliff Greenway and the non-residential part of Briarcliff Parkway. Under this agreement, we are responsible for picking up litter, clearing away brush and preserving the natural beauty of the area. The city's Adopt-A-Trail program encourages businesses, organizations, communities and even individual residents to keep the city's trails clean and accessible. Several years ago, Briarcliff Trails of Our Community signed an agreement with the Missouri Department of Transportation for their Adopt-A-Highway program, and has picked up more than 340 bags of trash to date. We felt it only made sense to extend our efforts to the trails along Briarcliff Parkway and the Greenway. For more photos and information, go to our Adopt-A-Trail & Highway page. 

Dog lovers and their furry friends gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony of the brand new off-leash dog park in North Kansas City. The City of Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation partnered with the City of North Kansas City to construct a 4-acre dog park at 32nd and Swift, just south of Water Works Park and minutes away from Briarcliff. The dog park will have two separate fenced in areas, a shelter, drinking fountain and a crushed stone trail. This park is one of three in Kansas City and is the only one north of the river. The opening is scheduled for 2014. 

If anyone knows how to set a good example of leading healthy and active lifestyles, it's Briarcliff Elementary. Every fall, the students, faculty and staff celebrate International Walk to School Day by doing just that: walking to school. Only the kids and parents decided to go the extra step and make this day into a large community event.  

The school invited the North Kansas City High School drum line and cheerleaders to formally lead their march from Briarcliff Village all the way up to the school. They were joined by hundreds of neighbors, families and businesses supporting their efforts to recognize the importance of walking to school. We would like to thank GreenAcres Market for generously donating bottled water for all the walkers, Latte Land for providing hot chocolate, the Kansas City Police Department for traffic control, North Kansas City High School for their entertainment and marching support and all the parents, kids, families, staff and businesses for their support in this event. 

Check out the event page for more details and a look at the 2013 Gallery.