At the November 19, 2024 meeting of Council, approval was given to enter into an agreement with Better Meadows & Woodlands for 2024-25 to ‘conserve and improve the quality of forest lands in the Village’. Funding will come from the Village’s Land Conservation Fund. This pilot project will focus on four properties: Feller Field (36 acres), Village Arboretum (2 acres), property owned by the GMLC on the west side of Chagrin River Road south of Mayfield Road (9 acres), and a property along the west side of Chagrin River Road north of Mayfield Road (13 acres) of which the Village and the Cleveland Metroparks each own about 6.5 acres.
Each parcel has a site-specific ‘treatment plan’ for removing non-native, invasive species, including privet, porcelain berry, honeysuckle, Oriental bittersweet, English ivy, buckthorn, wild grapevine etc. The methods consist of a combination of cut stump/basal bark, mulching, and a foliar application. Work will begin this winter and progress into the fall, 2025.
What is the goal and why is it important to the community? Most of us moved into the Village for its idyllic, natural setting. And most residents want to see that maintained. But development, tree diseases, storms/hurricanes, etc. have threatened our tree canopy. One of the best practices for protecting and maintaining a healthy tree canopy is establishing a nurturing habitat for a diverse species of trees. Not everything in a habitat, even if it is green, is nurturing. Invasives, for example, invade our habitat and destroy the trees. This has been a problem for centuries, but now foresters, climate scientists, and environmental groups are sounding the alarm for action. Our enlightened community, engaging the Village’s Comprehensive Plan, is taking a bold step to address this issue. The Holden Arboretum, Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Cleveland Metroparks, for example, have all provided insight and guidance in this endeavor. Further, they view Gates Mills as an area leader for other communities to follow.
Why these properties? They were selected based on their large impact on the public viewscape, access by Village residents, and the demonstration of collaboration among the Village, the GMLC and Cleveland Metroparks. No private properties are involved in this pilot, but hopefully Villagers will be inspired to learn and consider these practices for their trees.
Each month more information will be forthcoming in the Pink Sheet and accessible on the Village website.