Park district seeks habitat heroes to root out buckthorn

Buckthorn (Ohio Department of Natural Resources photos)

From WOOD COUNTY PARK DISTRICT

Volunteer with the Wood County Park District to help remove invasive species and be a Habitat Hero!

Habitat Heroes is Saturday, November 4 from 9:00 am until 12:00 noon at the W. W. Knight Nature Preserve, 29530 White Road, Perrysburg. Registration is required. Tools, instruction, and refreshments are provided. Please register by visiting wcparks.org/volunteer, or calling the Wood County Park District at 419-353-1897.

What do Habitat Heroes do?

Specifically, this Habitat Heroes program will focus on removing an invasive woody plant species called Buckthorn from at the W. W. Knight Nature Preserve. Buckthorn is allelopathic which means it sends compounds into the soil that suppresses growth of other plants.  Be a part of something larger than yourself by helping with this important activity to restore wildlife habitat and improve soil quality. This is an outdoor program with physical activity. After working outside to remove Buckthorn, we will warm up inside with refreshments. 

The conservation efforts of the Wood County Park District rely on a network of volunteers. There are many ways to get involved. Volunteer at the native plant nursery and greenhouse at the J. C. Reuthinger Memorial Preserve in Perrysburg. Hundreds of varieties of native plants are cultivated here and propagated for use in the parks. There are also indoor, seated programs cleaning native plant seeds from the other plant material. Get started at wcparks.org/volunteer, or call 419-353-1897.