Visitors to Kingswood Park may not realize that some of the vegetation is actually invasive and harmful to the native species that belong in the region. In partnership with the Ohio River Foundation and Cincinnati Nature Center, Deerfield Township has taken steps to remove invasive plants and rebuild the park ecosystem for native plants and animals.
“Invasive species choke out the native species, making it difficult for them to grow and thrive. This reduces food sources for animals, which causes them to migrate elsewhere,” Deerfield Township Trustee Kristin Malhotra explains. “By removing the invasive species, we can turn Kingswood into a much-needed haven for native plants and animals,” Kristin continues. “We hope that this in turn creates a place of respite where our residents and neighbors can go to relax and reconnect with the natural world.”
Starting in June 2020, Deerfield Township partnered with the Ohio River Foundation (ORF) to remove invasive honeysuckle and Callery pear trees from Kingswood Park. About 40 acres of the park were mapped out for invasive species removal. With the aid of 46 volunteers, 9,000 invasive plants and trees were removed.
“As a result of this work, more than 150 native trees, shrubs and plants were protected from soil degradation and overcrowding,” ORF Executive Director Rich Cogen explains.
Many native wildflowers, song birds and insects are specifically impacted by invasive plants, making it important to start re-incorporating more native flowering plants to support healthy, robust populations of pollinators.
“Amur honeysuckle, also known as Bush honeysuckle, reduces the diversity and abundance of native wildflowers,” Cincinnati Nature Center Director of Conservation Cory Christopher elaborates. “The fruit of the honeysuckle is also not particularly nutritious. It provides song birds with a relatively poor source of food during late fall and winter.”
To start rebuilding the native ecosystem, a planting project in partnership with the Cincinnati Nature Center began installation of a native pollinator pathway in September 2020. Some of the plantings from the fall are already displaying growth and attracting bees and butterflies.
A native prairie, installed on the north side of Innovation Way, was completed in May 2021.
“We installed a native prairie on the north end, so hopefully we will see an increase in native pollinators and songbirds over the next few years,” Cory shares.
Invasive species removal projects will be ongoing and last for several years, offering continuing opportunities for new volunteers.
“We have several events planned where volunteers can help remove the invasive species,” Kristin tells us. “At each event, the staff from the Ohio River Foundation will direct volunteers where to work, provide training on identifying the invasive species and the tools to remove them.”
Volunteer opportunities are regularly posted on the Deerfield Township Parks and Recreation programs site, as well as on the Kingswood Park page. As of now, only three of the 40 mapped acres have been cleared, so volunteers are in high demand.
“Not only do we start on new areas to remove invasive species every year, but we have to go back to the areas we worked on in the past to remove any new plants that have popped up,” Kristin explains.
Deerfield Township will continue working with the Ohio River Foundation until all of the invasive species are removed from Kingswood Park. But Kristin advises park-goers to be patient in waiting for the arrival of new plants.
“As we remove more plants, we will have fewer new invasive plants grow as the seed sources will also be removed,” she explains.
In the meantime, “The best help is to learn which invasive species are prevalent in your area, identify them and alert park leaders to areas containing these species,” Cory instructs.
For more information and volunteer opportunities visit Deerfield Township Parks and Recreation at DeerfieldRec.com, Cincinnati Nature Center at CincyNature.org and Ohio River Foundation at OhioRiverFDN.org.
“We hope that this in turn creates a place of respite where our residents and neighbors can go to relax and reconnect with the natural world.” -Deerfield Township Trustee Kristin Malhotra