Community Tree Planting at Shawnee Lookout Park: Restoring 84 acres

The park has changed drastically throughout the last two centuries. Over time, the soils were transformed from forests and wetlands into agricultural land—and more recently a golf course. It is now part of Hamilton County’s park system, known as Great Parks, and is being restored back to its roots. 

TNC in Ohio started planning the restoration of this important historical site in 2021. 

“Shawnee Lookout was continuously occupied by indigenous people for 10,000 years—and most recently the Miami and Shawnee Tribes. Throughout the planning process, we have been working with the Miami Tribe to ensure the restoration design is thoughtful and respectful of the cultural history here,” says Devin Schenk, director of OMP at TNC in Ohio.

Working with partners, the team's vision for this project is to restore 84 acres of habitat, while improving recreational opportunities for the park visitors. 

“As part of the construction of the golf course, most of the streams were put underground. They were put in pipes—there's no ecological value to a piped stream. No wildlife can use it. It's not a water source. There's no habitat,” says Schenk.  

The work has involved removing the pipes and restoring the stream. Approximately 1.25 miles of buried stream were uncovered throughout this process.

Additionally, 0.9 miles of the stream were reconnected to its floodplain, which both improves habitat and water quality. 

A final step of this project involved leading the community in planting native tree nuts throughout the site. Volunteers also received a tour of the restoration work.

“The tree seed planting was a fun effort that connects with the community and allows us to utilize seeds that can be harvested from everybody's yards," says Schenk.

Ben Silliman, a site selection specialist for OMP managing the project, shares the importance of the nuts for reestablishing the forest. 

“These nuts were collected locally and were planted by seed. That helps them become established onsite and become healthy trees,” said Silliman. 

This spring, OMP will finish the reforesting effort by planting more than 30,000 additional trees. The reforestation will enhance habitat for birds and other wildlife, providing shade for the stream and associated aquatic and riparian habitats.

In the near future, this project will also work with the Miami and Shawnee Tribes, as well as Great Parks, to plant pawpaws on the site. The pawpaw is an important native understory tree that produces a large, edible fruit that is loved by wildlife and humans. 

“There is a pawpaw grove in the nearby forest that is super productive, likely because ancient agroforestry was practiced here by the native population. The best producing individuals would have been selected, moved around, and planted in maintained woodlands. We want to be respectful of these ancient genetics and replant offspring from this existing grove,” says Schenk.

Pawpaw seeds will be harvested from the nearby grove, and then Great Parks will grow the seed into saplings, which will then be planted throughout the site. 

The partnership with Great Parks has been the key to establishing these local relationships.

“It’s been a win-win situation, our mitigation program bringing in the funding and Great Parks’ local expertise to do the work. We are all really excited about it,” says Schenk. 

The project is expected to conclude in the fall of this year, with maintenance and monitoring ongoing.