BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Lindsey Raab, Anna Edwards and Matt McLaughlin take tree inventory.
(Steven M. Herppich photo)
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WAYNESVILLE -- Lindsey Raab doesn't expect to go into the forestry field when she grows up. But the opportunity to spend the summer outside, getting paid to walk up and down the streets of Waynesville cataloging trees, was too good an opportunity to pass up.
Plus, "knowing how much Waynesville is trying to do for the environment is really neat," the 16-year-old said.
Lindsey and fellow Waynesville High School juniors Anna Joe Edwards and Matt McLaughlin, are conducting the village's first tree inventory. They are identifying each tree in the village right-of-way, checking its condition and identifying planting spots for more as part of Waynesville's extensive commitment to its trees.
First, the students identify the type of tree, primarily by using the shape of the leaves. Most leaves on Waynesville's trees look like three-pronged hands, signaling maple trees, Matt said. The students also have come upon sassafras, flowering crab and apple trees.
Next, the group chronicles the condition of the tree, checking to see whether the branches are flush with leaves and whether any utility wires could impede the trees' growth. They also mark available planting spots.
Deeming the trees both an economic and aesthetic resource, the village established a tree board in 1995 with an annual budget of $5,000 to maintain and plant trees.
In 1996, the village added a tree clause to its zoning regulations, Village Manager Kevin Harper said. Developers have the choice of designing their own landscaping plan or paying $200 per lot to cover the cost of planting trees.
Protecting the trees is sound economic policy, Mr. Harper said. Trees deter erosion and provide a natural filter for drinking water. The shade from trees helps lower electric bills in the summer.
Plus, the trees are part of the landscape of Waynesville, a community known as the antiques capital of the Midwest.
"In an older community like ours, tree-lined streets are what people expect to see," Mr. Harper said.
In addition to its benefit to the community, the project also gives the three high school juniors an outdoor classroom in which to put their education to use, said science teacher Leah Hellemann, who is coordinating the project along with Tree Board member Alan Bunker.
While the students will earn a half-credit in science and an $800 stipend from the tree board, the hands-on experience is invaluable, said Mrs. Hellemann, who taught all three a section on tree identification during their biology class last year.
"It's always a lot more fun to go outside and do real science," Mrs. Hellemann said.
