Our first meeting went so well! Around 30 people were in attendance, a wonderful turnout. We covered the history of the arboretum and the timing for the tree planting this fall. Then the real magic started with comments and suggestions from the attendees. So many great ideas were given, some we had thought about but many that we hadn’t. That’s the power of brainstorming. Here’s just a few of the amazing suggestions we got:
- Partner with local schools
- Reduce storm water run-off through catches at the end of streets
- Go back to brick streets
- Encourage backyard gardens; link when possible
- Have education / workshops for arboretum residents; gardens, herbs, rain barrels, etc.
- Have a bird survey completed; make the arboretum a bird sanctuary
- Bury electrical, cable, and phone lines, or beautify utility poles
- Install planted medians on High and Indianola
- Have a plant share / trade day
- Provide educational information on newly planted trees, especially for rentals
- Create neighborhood stewards for areas with large number of rentals
- Create and install signage to delineate area
- Plantings to attract bees / pollinators ; butterfly way-station
- Beautification projects – little green spaces /plants, businesses, etc.
These are all fantastic ideas for things that we can do within the arboretum in addition to planting trees, all of which will make the arboretum even better than we had envisioned. So thanks to everyone who came and participated; we can do so much more together.
Until next time!
Lower Olentangy Urban Arboretum 