Commemorating Arbor Day 2024
ZANESVILLE, Ohio – 2024 marks the 75th Anniversary of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the 152nd celebration of Arbor Day.
ODNR Division of Forestry District Manager Stephen Rist explained how they are celebrating the occasion by planting a hardwood tree along with a commemorative sign in each of Ohio’s 88 counties.
ODNR chose the Buckeye State Tree Nursery as the site to plant its Muskingum County sapling.
“So this is the new state nursery,” Rist said. “The Buckeye State Tree Nursery. We had nurseries here in Ohio, three of them but they started slowly closing down. Zanesville shut down in 2002 and Marietta shut down in 2009. We realized we still need to be able to grow some seedlings to give out to the public and the people. So now we’re restarting the nursery here at the Zanesville site.”
The tree that is planted in Muskingum County is a Shingle Oak and Rist noted that all of the commemorative trees are species, which are native to Ohio.
“So this Shingle Oak is going to do a little bit better here. It’s in its natural site, where it grows more down in the lower land area. We’re on the edge of a pond right now, so it’s going to have a little bit of wet area and some clay. So this tree is more suited to this than some other species,” Rist said.
Trees provide many vital benefits that play a crucial role in the ecosystem. And anyone interested in learning more about trees can visit their OSU Extension agent, their local soil and water conservation district or the Division of Forestry’s website.
