Mason County awarded $44,310 forestry grant to plant trees, expand school programming at Cummins Nature Preserve

Maysville, Ky.

Mason County will plant several hundred trees and expand school programming at the Cummins Nature Preserve after receiving a $44,310 Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Grant from the Kentucky Division of Forestry, the Buffalo Trace Area Development District told the fiscal court. Sierra O'Call, a regional planner with Buffalo Trace, said the award required no local match and will fund interpretive materials, community visit days and the bulk of the planting work.

"The Mason County fiscal court was awarded $44,310 from the Kentucky Division of Forestry through the Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Grant," Sierra O'Call said in the Sept. 10 meeting. O'Call said the grant will support educational pamphlets, five community visit days with guest speakers, advertising and a trolley connection to increase access to the preserve.

Park staff described an in-school and on-site curriculum for middle-school sixth-graders that pairs a laboratory exercise on leaf oxygen production with a tree-identification and "adopt-a-tree" program. "The grant itself is really focused on education," said the park coordinator, who outlined hands-on labs, measurement exercises and seasonal observation projects designed to keep students returning twice a year.

Project details released to the court say the grant will fund planting approximately 326 trees at the preserve, including specimen recommendations by the Kentucky Division of Forestry such as Shumard and Northern red oaks, multiple white oak varieties, hickories, black walnut, pecan and soft-mast species such as redbud and pawpaw. Additional plantings around the preserve's ponds include dogwood species and bald cypress to moderate sunlight and help control cattail growth.

The county also won a separate Arbor Day grant of roughly $26,000 this fall that includes a 300-tree giveaway; combined with the forestry award the presenters estimated fall plantings could reach about 426 trees. County officials said plantings will prioritize mature containerized trees (3- and 15-gallon stock) to reduce early losses and provide immediate canopy and wildlife habitat benefits.

Why it matters: Court members emphasized the project's long-term value for biodiversity and community education. Judge Owen McNeil praised the volunteers and staff coordinating the program and said commissioners were enthusiastic about the grant's potential to improve local quality of life.

What happens next: Presenters said ordering and logistics will begin as checks are received and that school scheduling for two visits per grade will be finalized. County staff will coordinate planting schedules and site preparations with the Division of Forestry and Buffalo Trace Area Development District.

Funding and context: The project is 100% funded via the Division of Forestry grant; no local match was required for the $44,310 award. The Arbor Day grant announced at the meeting is separate and will broaden the county's fall planting and community giveaway activities.

The fiscal court took no formal additional vote on this agenda item beyond thanking staff and inviting the presenters to coordinate next steps; implementation timing will depend on nursery availability and permitting.