A grant for over $1 million from the USDA will be used to improve the look – and health – of Possum Creek and Spring Run, said MetroParks officials.
Five Rivers MetroParks announced it received a grant worth $1.45 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Urban and Community Forestry program earlier this month.
The grant will be used to improve the quality of the green spaces at Possum Creek MetroPark and Spring Run Conservation Area.
They hope to manage the presence of invasive plants and bring back native plants such as ash trees and cedars to help fill up the forest canopy and restore habitats.
The first step will be assembling an inventory of the plant species that can be found in each park.
“Every year we get fresh seed dropped from the native trees and the seeds just don't have a chance,” park manager of Possum Creek Shane Sheldon said.
Sheldon said the most prominent invasive plants across Possum Creek are buckthorn, autumn olive and honeysuckle.
Grace Dietsch, interim director of conservation for Five Rivers MetroParks, explained that in the fall season, while all the other trees are dropping their leaves, honeysuckle stays green.
“It's one of their invasive adaptations. And so they green up earlier so that they can begin the process of photosynthesis earlier than our native species. And then the leaves hang on longer,” she said. “So it's got that greater window to make energy to grow stronger and faster.”
At the moment, Sheldon said himself and three other staff are mostly responsible for trimming the overgrowth of invasive plants to clear trail paths, on top of other responsibilities for the 556-acre park.
“You can't get an idea of what the terrain looks like because we are so overwhelmed with the amount of invasives here,” he said. “So viewshed is what we're after, and that will have a huge impact on the way the public views the park.”
Dietsch said having the ability to hire contractors to support with maintenance is important to combat the target species.
“Getting investments from the federal government to help maintain and improve these green spaces just speaks volumes of the importance of Dayton, not only from a statewide level, but also on a national level."Grace Dietsch, interim director of conservation for Five Rivers MetroParks
“There are certain timeframes within the year that the conditions are right in order to treat these kinds of invasive species. And with such small staffing levels and these small weather windows and with climate change, those windows are growing even more narrow,” she said.
But getting rid of overgrown plants isn’t just an aesthetic choice; it’s a climate mitigation measure, according to Dietsch.
“The research has shown time and time and again that invasive species do not sequester as much carbon as our native plant species,” she said. “So getting rid of these invasive woody plant species and either promoting the regrowth of our native plants or planting larger sized trees and shrubs, that will immediately have benefits of being able to capture more carbon from the atmosphere and store it.”
Dietsch also explained invasive plants disrupt soil conditions, making them more acidic or generally changing their chemical compositions. This makes the soil less hospitable to native plants.
It can also increase the resilience of the landscape, said MetroParks CEO Karen Hesser.
“So if you have trees and open space, the lands and the properties are more adaptable to weather events, whether it's rain or snow, or high winds,” she said.
As for Spring Run, the grant will help to continue the work of a H2Ohio initiative to restore wetland habitats on the property, ultimately helping to filter and absorb water.
The grant will be effective starting next year and will be distributed across five years.
Dietsch said this is exactly what they need.
“To have a five year window in order to continue to maintain is going to be so much more impactful than just having a one year effort to remove all the [invasive] plants. This project is going to change the trajectory of the ecological conditions of these areas for generations.”
Hesser said this grant will allow them to look after all 18 MetroParks better.
“By getting this support for these two, we can use other existing resources to address similar issues in other parks as an example. Ultimately, it's our goal to effect this type of change at all of our parks.”
The funding from the Urban and Community Forestry Program is specifically aimed toward communities that are considered marginalized and overburdened by pollution.
“Getting investments from the federal government to help maintain and improve these green spaces just speaks volumes of the importance of Dayton, not only from a statewide level, but also on a national level,” said Dietsch.
Research shows that access to forest space improves health outcomes and reduces crime.
