Keep Ohio Beautiful Celebrated Arbor Day in Ohio with ODNR at Great Ohio Planting Day This year’s tree planting held at Deer Creek State Park

Keep Ohio Beautiful hosted its annual Great Ohio PlantingDay, to celebrate Arbor Day in Ohio, on Friday, April 26, at Deer Creek State Park.

KeepOhio Beautiful (KOB) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) workedtogether with Columbia Gas of Ohio and NiSource volunteers to beautify andenhance the state park’s campground by planting 25 large native trees in honorof Arbor Day. Funding for the project was provided to KOB through the ColumbiaGas Charitable Fund.

“Columbia Gas pleased to continue itspartnership with ODNR and KOB this Arbor Day,” said Kristy Monk, Keep OhioBeautiful board member and NiSource employee. “This partnership supports ourmission of environmental stewardship while enhancing the visitor’s experienceat Deer Creek State Park.”

“Adding healthy, native trees to our stateparks restores shade and wildlife habitat,” said ODNR Director Mary Mertz.“Visitors to Mt. Gilead and other parks will enjoy the legacy of our partners, KeepOhio Beautiful and Columbia Gas, for generations to come.”

Eachyear, Keep Ohio Beautiful celebrates Great Ohio Planting Day on Arbor Day toprovide a firsthand educational program, which demonstrates how to properlyprepare a planting site, plant, and care for a tree. In past years, KOBvolunteers have planted more than 250 mature native trees at Alum Creek, DeerCreek, East Fork, Mt. Gilead and Mohican state parks.

As a state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful,Keep Ohio Beautiful serves as Ohio’s umbrella organization for more than 40local affiliate organizations in numerous Ohio communities. By providing adedicated support system and the sharing of best practices, Keep Ohio Beautifulenables volunteers in communities throughout Ohio to improve waste handlingpractices, litter prevention, recycling, beautification, and community greeningefforts. For more information, visit keepohiobeautiful.org.

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