By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green’s new arborist is a big believer in diversity. That’s one of the reasons he was attracted to the city – its diversity of trees.
Grant Jones, who was working at the botanical Longwood Gardens outside Philadelphia, knew of Bowling Green’s reputation as a tree hugging community.
“I’ve always heard good things about Bowing Green and its commitment to trees,” he said.
Jones shares that commitment – though he could do without the messy mulberry tree he has to park under at his temporary home.
Since arriving on the job on June 1, Jones has been getting to know Bowling Green’s people and its trees.
“There’s a really nice grove of old oak trees,” he said about the huge trees in City Park. “They look like they are doing pretty well right now.”
“I think that’s one of the things I like about trees,” they take time to reach their potential, he said. “They’re not something that’s instant.”
Unlike Nebraska, where he grew up, Bowling Green has a wealth of maple, oak, honey locust, crab apples and pear trees.
“There’s not a lot of trees in Nebraska, so I got to appreciate the trees we had,” Jones said.
And unlike many cities, Bowling Green has a tree inventory that tracks all the city-owned trees in the parks, cemetery and right-of-ways between sidewalks and streets.
“That’s important,” Jones said.
As tree diseases come and go, an inventory allows the community to track its susceptible trees and replace them with types that can withstand the diseases. A few years ago, it was the emerald ash borer that wiped out ash trees. The latest potential threat seems to be the Asian longhorn beetle.
“They like maples, which is unfortunate because maples are good trees,” Jones said.
But unlike the ash borer, it appears the longhorn beetle can be stopped by treating trees. “It would be nice to avoid that,” he said.
Jones said he’s aware of the controversy last year, when the city lost several mature trees along West Wooster Street to a gas line construction. He understands how people become attached to trees. And his office right now is working to replace street trees and those wiped out by the ash borer.
“I’d really like to continue the trend of planting a diverse group of trees,” he said.
Later this fall, Jones and the city tree commission plan to hold a couple seminars for the public on trees. The exact topics and times have not yet been determined.
Jones encouraged the public to call him if they want trees planted in their tree lawns, the areas between sidewalks and streets.
“I’ve met with a lot of people who have questions about their trees,” he said.
Jones praised the city for meeting the criteria and being named a “Tree City USA” for 36 years. “That’s a really good number of years,” he said.
The city has also met the “growth component” of Tree City USA criteria for 22 years, more than any other community in Ohio, he said.
Jones hopes to grow on that success.
