RESOURCE PROTECTION & CONSERVATION

With Bexley being very passionate about their city’s environment, Columbus’s resource protection and conservation efforts greatly affect them. In 2013, the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department inventory increased by 145 acres, 5,650 square yards in the parks were improved so water could flow through it, 3,583 trees were planted in hopes to help off-set the loss of 12,398 ash trees infected with Emerald Ash Borer, and 426 volunteers spent 1655 hours clearing 14.97 acres of parkland of invasive honeysuckle. On top of all of these actions, the city department and community organizations heavily focused on the local foods. One of the ways the city is trying to support healthy foods is through farmers markets. Columbus’s Health Department put on a farmer’s market where over 5,899 visitors came to buy nutritious foods. Most significant to this region, however, is the grant funding the thirty-four community gardens were provided from the City of Columbus in partnership with Franklin County, Franklin Park Conservatory, and The Columbus Foundation. Grant winners received $55,000 in addition to product donations such as soil and mulch. The Franklin Park Conservatory also put on free educational classes of the winner’s choosing for them.[1]

[1] Environmental Stewardship in Columbus: Overview,” Columbus Office of Environmental Sustainability 2013 Annual Report, 8, https://www.columbus.gov/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=66688