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Forestry is responsible for implementing the City’s street tree program, including the monitoring, maintenance and inventory of the City’s 23,000 street and cemetery trees. In addition, Forestry is responsible for assuring new street trees are of desired species and placed properly. Forestry ensures tree warranty obligations are met and works with developers to address street tree issues in new developments. Forestry also gives the community tree-related education and

participates in community events such as Arbor Day.

Horticulture is responsible for the health and beauty of the landscaping and trees in more than 100 areas of parks, open space, rights-of-way and gateways and around City buildings. Horticulture is responsible for several wildflower and prairie areas and maintains a wetland and arboretum located in M.L. “Red” Trabue Nature Reserve. Horticulture is responsible for ecological assessments, mainly in wooded areas, which determine plant diversity and overall health of the woodlands. Except for wooded stands, Horticulture staff has implemented a tree inventory program that provides statistical information relevant to the type, size and health of all landscape trees within the park system areas maintained by the Horticulture team. The Horticulture staff also is heavily involved in Earth Day and its various

activities. Horticulture is involved in the eradication and control of invasive plant species, chiefly amur honeysuckle. The team also maintains annuals and perennials in the greenhouse for use in our parks.

In the winter Horticulture and Forestry

maintain and monitor the sledding hill at Scioto Park and the ice rink in Coffman Park.

CIP and Funding

As existing parks and recreation facilities continue to age and new facilities are

constructed in future park developments, more focus will be on facility upkeep and on-going maintenance and renovation.

A comprehensive preventive maintenance program is carried out by the Facilities division, funded as part of the Facilities operating budget. Facilities is a seperate division from Parks & Open Space, but the two groups work in harmony to achieve common goals. Significant maintenance and renovation needs are incorporated into the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP). As part of the CIP process, facilities are evaluated annually and critical maintenance and renovation needs are included in the upcoming year’s CIP funding.