Groundwork Jacksonville (GWJax) is a visionary nonprofit transforming some of the city’s most underutilized and contaminated spaces into vibrant public assets. With a focus on environmental restoration, neighborhood revitalization and community engagement, GWJax is reshaping Hogans and McCoys Creeks into parks, playgrounds, trails and green spaces that bring people, nature, and place together. Its flagship initiative, the Emerald Trail, spans 14 neighborhoods, creating a connective spine that fosters healthy, sustainable and thriving communities—demonstrating how bold design and dedicated stewardship can unlock a city's potential from the ground up. The Emerald Trail is a transformative, multi-neighborhood project — so large and complex that most people can’t easily visualize it.

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We worked to show rather than tell the trail’s impact, connecting communities to the vision before it’s fully built. Ruckus created a dynamic video that brings the trail to life: mapping its path, highlighting restored parks and waterways, and capturing the people, neighborhoods, and nature it will touch. The result is a tool that makes the project tangible, inspires excitement, and helps residents, partners, and donors see themselves on the trail long before all segments are complete. In addition to the flagship video, we provided social reels and extra footage to give Groundwork flexible assets for ongoing engagement.

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