January 18, 2024
By Anna Gasser

Pickerington, Ohio is a town of surprising natural beauty. Its many parks and leisure areas host an array of wildlife and midwestern biodiversity. However, these areas that people enjoy are not coincidental, but rather take effort to maintain.

One of the most labor-intensive maintenance responsibilities is the removing invasive species such as honeysuckle and autumn olive. These foreign invaders steal resources and choke out the vegetation that originally populated the area.

The Bill & Joyce Hague Foundation works to restore natural ecosystems throughout Fairfield County. Volunteers from the foundation have been working to cull invasive species in areas throughout Pickerington and Violet Township. However, the removal of invasive plants leaves a vacuum, as the native plants have died.

During Pickerington’s annual Earth Day event, new saplings of native trees (and bushes, where applicable) will be planted. With a lot of work, we can begin to restore Pickerington’s green spaces to how they might have looked like when settlers first arrived.

The catch, however, is that saplings cost money and funds are limited. My name is Anna Gasser, and my Eagle Scout project is to raise the money that the Foundation needs to help our town bloom again with native trees.

My goal is to raise enough money for a thousand trees, mostly oaks, maples, and sycamores, to be planted on the Pickerington Earth Day Event of 2024. If you care about Pickerington’s parks, or if you consider yourself an environmentalist, or if you’d simply like to help a local cause that will do a great deal of good, please consider donating.

Every single dollar helps, and every three dollars can purchase a tree. Each tree is a home for wildlife, an enrichment of the forest, and a new beginning. With your help, we can turn Pickerington green. Donation links are included at the bottom of page. There are links to donate, $10.00, $20,00, $50.00 or $100.00. Also, from now until Earth Day, Pickerington Online will donate all proceeds from sales of print edition subscriptions to my project.