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PHOTO CREDIT: Cbus4Kids.com —

The Rotary Club of Westerville will join the Friends of Alum Creek and Tributaries (FACT) and members of the Sunrise Rotary Club of Westerville Saturday, from 9 a.m. until noon Oct. 23, for a National Make A Difference Day project at Westerville’s Boyer Nature Preserve.

We will meet at 9 a.m. at the entrance to the park, 452 E. Park St. (where Park Street dead-ends into Orchard Lane, just north of Walnut Street). The job, suitable for all ages, is to remove invasive species from the property.

Park description courtesy of TrekOhio.com:

About Boyer Nature Preserve

The Boyer Nature Preserve is a little-known ecological gem. Tucked between old Westerville neighborhoods, the preserve is comprised of mature forest (maple, ash and oak), a 3-acre pond, shrubby successional areas and a complex network of streams and wetlands. These diverse habitats host more than 200 plant species, including several rare wetland plants. They also host abundant wildlife including duck, heron, muskrat, racoon, turtle, woodpeckers and much more.

Boyer Park traces its history to Rotary Club of Westerville charter member A. Monroe Courtright selling 7.8 acres to the City of Westerville in 1966 for $1, and it is named after a former mayor of the city, Otterbein sociology professor and nature enthusiast John Neely Boyer. The push to formally protect the full 11.4-acre nature preserve was led by Westerville schoolchildren, an effort profiled in the national nature magazine Ranger Rick in 1976.

The job Saturday

Our job on Saturday morning will be to uproot invasive species of plants in the park, principally honeysuckle. Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) is a non-native, invasive species that grows aggressively across Central Ohio and can harm the unique native plants at Boyer, thus threatening the wildlife that depends on that native plant life as well.

Wear your boots, gloves, and come help us preserve Westerville’s wonderful Boyer Nature Preserve from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 23! Be prepared to get a little dirty!

Read more about the Boyer Nature Preserve in this CbusForKids.com article and this TrekOhio.com article. Read more about Make a Difference Day at this link.

See you at the park Saturday morning!

 

The Rotary Club of Westerville

Founded in 1959, the Rotary Club of Westerville is a service club of business professionals and leaders working to improve our community and larger world. We are part of Rotary International. Find out more at WestervilleRotary.com. Contact the Club and learn how to join at www.westervillerotary.com/contact-form.

Interested in joining?

The Rotary Club of Westerville is accepting applications for new membership.

The best way to pursue membership is to contact an existing Club member, and attend one of our lunches or events as her or his guest. Members of the public also are welcome to attend our events on their own, to see what our service club is all about. If possible, please give notice of your intent to attend a luncheon or social by emailing WestervilleRotaryEvents@gmail.com.

We hope to see you soon!