HARRISON TWP. — People planted dozens of new trees in a Harrison Township park this weekend in the same area devastated by the Memorial Day Tornadoes in 2019.
The volunteer group RETREET is organized the event that gathered people together at Sinclair Park to plant over 80 native Ohio tree to replace the 375 that were lost.
After counting the tree rings, they learned some had been growing here for more than a century.
“I think the most we found, were 310. When you put that into perspective, the tree started to grow 20 years after Abraham Lincoln was president,” said Merle Cyphers, Harrison Twp. Service Director.
RETREET is also helping homeowners affected by the tornadoes.
“There are no barriers for entry to our program. if your home was impacted, by the tornadoes and you’d like a tree planted for free by our tree program, go online and fill out the form and we will do our best to come plant a tree within the next two years,” said Grady McGahan, director of RETREET, Keep America Beautiful.
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Next Spring, Sinclair Park is expected to reopen to the public. There’s a five-year goal to plant 400 trees there.
“Sinclair Park is an icon in our community and it’s going to be back again. It’s going to take some love and hard work, but it’s going to come back,” said Judy Dodge said, a Montgomery County Commissioner.
Many of those who volunteered have a connection to the park, and want others to experience too.
“My family. My kids had come up here when they were younger because of the play set. For me, it’s about future generations,” Cyphers said.
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