Trees togo to tornadovictims thisweekend
Five Rivers MetroParks DAYTON— is giving away thousands of locally-grown tree seedlings this weekend to remindthecommunityofthe perseverance it has demonstrated since the Memorial Day tornadoes last year.
To help reforest areas that were damaged by the tornadoes, Five Rivers’ Healing Nature initiative will take place on Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon atWegerzyn GardensMetroPark, located at 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave. in Dayton.
The initiative is designed to assist property owners and communities in Montgomery County that were impacted by the tornadoes with tree replacement and habitat restoration.
Trees will be distributed in a drive-thru style so people can remain in their vehicles while being assisted by MetroParks staff. Seedlings
will be available on a firstcome, first-serve basis.
“Wegerzyn, thatwas really our one park that received a lot ofdamage fromthe tornadoes,” said Beth Burke, Five Rivers interpretation coordinator.
“Just seeinghowmany treeswere destroyed at that park and looking around the surrounding areas and realizing, you see all these really giant trees that are just completely wiped out.”
There will be 21 native species tochoosefrom, allgrown locally at The Barbara Cox Center for Sustainable Horticulture at Cox Arboretum MetroPark. The seedlings grown at the center are typically distributed to different MetroParks to help replace invasive tree species that have been removed.
“We have these trees available and we weren’t going to be able to make a difference just within our parks, but we could make a difference outside of our park boundaries by providing these trees to the homeowners and to the people who have lost all of their vegetation,” Burke said.
Community members will be able to select up to three seedlings that will come in easy-to-handle containers with directions on how to plant and care for them. A list of the available tree seedlings, along with information about each species is available at metroparks.org/healing-nature.
“Five Rivers MetroParks has a specific long-term role to play in efforts to recover from the tornadoes, which is restoring lost habitat,” said Becky Benna, Five Rivers MetroParks’ executive director. “An untold number of trees, shrubs and other plants critical to our region’s wildlife and natural heritage were lost during the storms. It’s importantwe replant in the areas where so many were lost to tornado damage.”
Between 3,000and 4,000 seedlings will be available at the giveaway event. Though proof of residence is not required, Burke requested that people remember that MetroParks wants to give priority to those who lost vegetation to the tornadoes.
“The area has been hit with a lot over the past couple years and I think emotionally, it just helps that healing process to just see newtrees being planted and knowthecommunity is coming back to life and returning towhatwas once there,” Burke said. “It’s a nice healing process for everyone.”