| Trees for the Trail |
Our park wouldn't be what it is without volunteers getting down and dirty! Recently, nine of them (Donne Eubanis, Rick & Amy Forrester, Sylvia Hadley & Larry Lankford, Cindy Kessler, Nick Montjoy, Bill Smith, and Tracy Smith) descended on 200 empty plastic containers and 200 baby trees & shrubs in Rick's backyard to pot them up until they can be planted along the trail later in the fall. Three and a half hours, a cubic yard of mulch, a cubic yard of dirt, 100 yards of orange flagging, several shovels, watering hoses and wheelbarrows later, the job was done!
Once the trees are planted, they will be registered with the Taking Root initiative, whose goal is to plant 2 million trees in the tri-state area by 2020.
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| Cycling for Trees |
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Rick Forrester, Brent Devitt and his TRECYCLE trike
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Brent Devitt's second annual TRECYCLE journey on southwest Ohio trails was tree-mendous! (Pardon the pun.) A total of 256 trees and shrubs were purchased for planting with the $1,166 raised. Brent reports that he cycled 268 miles on the complete journey at an average of 9 mph. That was approximately 99,000 pedal revolutions and the equivalent of 12 gallons of gas saved and 250 pounds of CO2 emissions avoided if the same distance had been covered by car.
"I enjoyed meeting and working with the volunteers at the planting locations," said Brent. "Seeing many of the 160 trees planted last year by Rick Forrester and the volunteer team of Friends of the Little Miami State Park was impressive. And to know that another 195 will be planted by next fall is great. I had a chance to share the story of TRECYCLE at the Earth Day celebration in Cincinnati. And the overnight hosts and campgrounds were fantastic."
Brent and TRECYCLE contributed $200 to FLMSP for the purchase of trees planted by Rick Forrester's team (see article above).
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| Root Cutting Complete! |
In what will probably be the
biggest volunteer effort of 2016, volunteers logged 250 hours of work April 18-20 cutting tree roots along the trail ber
ms from Grandin Rd. to the northern park boundary at Hedges Rd. This massive project aimed at reducing bumps and cracks on the trail surface completes the entire 50 miles of trail begun last fall.
Two 4-person teams worked 10 hours a day for 3 days pulling a hooked blade behind a rented tractor to cut through encroaching roots adjacent to the trail. The teams also recut portions of the trail between Loveland and Grandin Rd. to correct for a shallow cut due a broken blade in last fall's effort.
Read More
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| With a Little Elbow Grease . . . |
by Rick Forrester
A volunteer trail crew found two bent and rusted railroad spikes while digging out a culvert a few months ago. Not content to just leave them in that degraded state, we tried our hand at restoring them to to their original condition--take a look at our results!
Now, with a little elbow grease, YOU can help
maintain the once discarded railroad bed which is the Little Miami State Park and keep it as the shiny new 52-mile trail we all enjoy now! Please consider donating a few hours of your time to help rebuild and maintain our great Ohio trail used by you and hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
There are lots of volunteer opportunities, ranging from simple trash pick-up to kiosk building, from tree planting to emergency tree removal, from mailings to meeting planning, and many others. Any level of involvement is welcome.
Immediate Opportunity: Place FLMSP milkweed seed packets (provided) at local businesses for free distribution. Respond to [email protected].
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| New Informational Kiosks |
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Jeanne Corgiat stocks the new Loveland kiosk in Nisbet Park
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If you've been enjoying the photos, maps, and information so beautifully displayed at our Friends' informational kiosks, you can thank a few industrious women: Jeanne Corgiat, Judy Mills, Becky Retzer, and Maxine Fischer.
You also can look for our two newest kiosks at Nisbet Park in Loveland and at Rte. 126 in Milford. These new kiosks were paid for with designated memorial donations. Watch for new postings about nature on the trail and nearby local eateries and bike shops in days to come.
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Friends of the Little Miami State Park is a nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation and enhancement of the Little Miami State Park. We assist the Ohio Department of Natural Resources with development planning, capital improvements, and safety concerns, as well as providing most of the maintenance of the park.
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What's the Buzz on the Trail?
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Trail Opening Celebration
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