The Land Bank’s urban reforestation initiative, Twigs to Trees, has attracted the interest of two university professors focused on creating a reforestation strategy for vacant lots in under served urban neighborhoods.
The researchers, Ohio State entomologist Dr. Mary Gardiner and University of Dayton forest-ecology expert Dr. Ryan McEwan, will plant – and study – trees that thrive in the local planting zone and experiment with species that grow in warmer zones, in anticipation of continuing climate change.
The first plantings will take place in 20 vacant lots in Dayton neighborhoods.
“This research project is taking Twigs to Trees to a higher level,” said Land Bank program manager Susie Crabill. “Not only are more and larger trees going to be planted, but they will be observed and maintained to determine their adaptability.”
