AMBERLEY VILLAGE, OH – Cincinnati Parks has landed $1.8 million to ramp up its fight to kill off invasive plants and restore forested land in French Park, its second-largest park site.
The anonymous donation will support a five-year project in the park, kick off a new fund and stand as the park system's largest forest renewal effort in nearly a century, officials said in announcing the contribution.
The contribution is a "game changer," Parks Director Jason Barron said in a press release. "We are going to completely restore these woods to the way they ought to be," he said.
Restoration work began earlier this year on 22 acres in French Park, officials said, with initial support from the unnamed donor.
battle invasive plant at city parks
Parks Foundation will seek $2M more to restore forests
The $1.8 million, announced at a Sept. 15 press conference, will go toward:
- Removing invasive plants from forest lands in French Park, which make up 228 of its 282 acres. This will happen over the next three years, with park staff and volunteers planting native trees and shrubs, restoring park trails, and providing ongoing maintenance.
- Creating a new park staff position to oversee the work for the next five years.
- Establishing French Park as a "living conservation laboratory" for forest management and replicating practices there at other Cincinnati parks.
Additionally, the Cincinnati Parks Foundation will launch a Conservation Fund, seeking to raise $2 million more over the coming five years to expand conservation and forest restoration.
The initial gift will transform French Park "for generations to come" and create a lasting legacy for the community, Parks Foundation President and CEO Jennifer Hafner Spieser said in the press release.
Only 'small percentage' of park forests in good condition
Friends of French Park, one of the park system's 35 advisory councils, has been removing honeysuckle and other invasive plants from the park for several years, planting trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses in their place. Some volunteers have learned advanced skills to fight invasives through the park's Cincinnati Conservation Stewardsprogram.
About three-quarters of the 5,000-plus acres that comprise Cincinnati park property is forested. Over time, many have become overrun with plants that choke out native vegetation that is essential to feed insects, birds, mammals and other plants.
"The result is that today, only a small percentage of Cincinnati forests are in good ecological condition," according to a park website.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Parks lands largest-ever gift to restore a forest
