It’s how we hop

Our Mission

FROGGS exists to promote, care for, and fund greenways in Pitt County and the City of Greenville, NC.

Ensuring and advocating for safe and clean greenways.

  • We raise funds to install amenities along the greenway system such as benches, picnic tables, kiosks, wayfinding markers, and signage.

  • We host regular cleanups of greenways, as well as nearby parks and natural areas.

  • We provide support to community groups interested in holding their own cleanups, maintenance efforts, or gardening projects.

Promoting the expansion of greenways throughout Pitt County.

  • We advocate for our Greenville and Pitt County governments to coordinate planning for recreational trails, bikeways, greenways, linear parks, conservation easements, and utility easements, with the purpose of developing a county-wide interconnected system of linear parks.

  • We identify opportunities and apply for funding to construct new greenway systems.

  • We work with stakeholder groups such as cities, universities, and private owners to identify priority greenway connectors.

  • We partner with, encourage, and otherwise assist in any efforts that foster greenway development across Pitt County.

Adding, inventorying, and maintaining amenities along the greenways.

  • We solicit and support amenity ideas and projects led by the public and other community groups, including those that may have programs with parallel goals, e.g., Re-Leaf, Greenville Recreation and Parks, and ECU Sustainability organizations.

  • We create a standard for amenities, e.g., a standard distance between benches.

Amenities include benches, picnic tables, kiosks, information signs, shelters, water fountains, trash cans, trees, bicycle repair stations, and exercise equipment, among other items and services.

Our Board of Directors is comprised of up to 15 members who serve in various capacities as committee leaders, project coordinators, social media managers and so forth.

Leadership

Board meetings are open to the public. Interested in joining the board? New Directors can be voted in after they’ve attended at least three consecutive meetings.

Officers

  • Jill Twark

    Chairperson

  • Shelly Tennant

    Vice Chair, Volunteer Coordination

  • Brianna Long

    Treasurer

  • Charles Jenkins

    Secretary

Board

  • Kat Dale

    Grants

  • Joshua Meeks

    Social Media

  • Amanda Murer

  • Yoshi Newman

Our History

1978

FROGGS’ earliest roots can be traced back to a petition by the Greenville chapter of the Sierra Club. Members asked state officials in Raleigh to fund a greenways feasibility study, setting Green Mill Run aside as a primary area of focus for the community.

1985

Greenville’s citizens formally ask the City Council to pursue development of a greenway system to facilitate cycling between student apartments and East Carolina University (ECU), provide space for outdoor exercise, and preserve the city’s forest habitats.

In the latter half of the 1980s, council members fund development of a Master Plan for the city’s greenways, to be designed by Greenways Inc., the country’s leading greenway planning firm. The Greenville Greenways Committee (GGC) is formed to provide input and oversight, under the guidance of City Planner Libby Anderson.

1991

Greenways Inc. proposes their Master Plan. In addition to suggesting various segments throughout Greenville, the Plan recommends forming a citizen-driven greenway support group to advocate for ongoing improvements. They suggest the name FROGGS: Friends of Greenville Greenways for this support group, once it’s created.

1995

Green Mill Run, Greenville’s first greenway, is completed 17 years after first being envisioned by the Sierra Club. It connects Green Springs Park on 5th Street with Elm Street Park (and its baseball field) on South Elm Street.

Greenway planning and construction continues, initially under the guidance of the Planning Department and Greenville Public Works, and later with the support and direct involvement of Greenville Recreation and Parks.

2001

Ten years after the first Master Plan was created, Greenville residents and ECU students petition city leadership for an update to better meet the needs of an ever-growing population. The City Council funds an update to the Master Plan in 2002, which is completed in 2004.

2004

With the completion of the updated Master Plan, GGC member Jill Twark — a longtime user and proponent of Greenville’s greenways — proposes the official formation of FROGGS, the citizen-led group first recommended by Greenways Inc. in its original Plan 13 years earlier. Members of FROGGS begin organizing public events, lobbying city officials, and advocating that new greenways be built according to the 2004 Master Plan.

2008

The first segment of the Tar River Greenway — Greenville’s longest and most intricate — is completed. With FROGGS fulfilling advocacy and support roles, Greenville’s Planning Department assumes oversight of greenway planning and expansion, and the GGC is disbanded.

Today, the Friends of Greenville Greenways continues its work promoting and elevating the quality of life for all Greenville citizens by maintaining existing greenways, planning expansions, and encouraging local communities and businesses to join in their advocacy for viable, environmentally conscious recreation and transportation opportunities.

Adapted from this interview of Vincent Bellis, founding member of both GGC and FROGGS, and additional research.