(Swanton Twp., OH) Metroparks Toledo is about to turn some farmland into forest.
The Nature Conservancy is providing nearly $275,000 to the Metroparks for 30,000 native hardwood tree seedlings, with a contract to be awarded today to a company to plant all those trees in 68 acres of parkland in the Oak Openings corridor, Swan Creek, and Blue Creek Metroparks.
But there's a sense of urgency to the project-- because it must be completed by the end of April.
That project is in addition to the work of Metropark volunteers who will plant another 5,000 bare-root trees this spring at the Fallen Timbers Battlefield Metropark.
That project involves red and white oak, hickory, black cherry, walnut and maple trees. Volunteers will prep those trees for planting during a day-long event on Saturday, April 7.