Consulting arborist outlines invasive-removal plan and low-cost 'natural play' for Old Orchard Park

Aaron Nobler, consulting arborist with the city, told the Parks & Rec Committee the former orchard has entered an early stage of forest succession and is overgrown with both useful native vegetation and invasive understory species. "We're removing the honeysuckle, privet, multiflora rose, poison hemlock, flowering pear, and Japanese barberry," Nobler said, outlining a multi-year removal and maintenance plan.

Nobler recommended beginning with annual or biannual targeted invasive removal so native trees and shrubs can re-establish, and planting Ohio natives in openings to speed recovery. He emphasized preserving riparian buffers along Prairie Creek to protect water quality before noting the park's meadow area is valuable for pollinators but needs planned control of poison hemlock, timed in spring when plants are low.

Committee members asked whether the city's services team could perform work under arborist supervision; Nobler said selective cutting and careful stump treatment would allow the service team to participate while avoiding removal of beneficial plants. He suggested doing heavier mechanical work only where necessary and warned that long-term maintenance will be required after an initial removal effort.

Nobler also proposed a compact, heavily managed ‘‘natural play’’ area—boulders, logs and native plantings visible from Granville Street—to provide a maintained focal point near downtown while the rest of the park is allowed to progress through succession. The committee said it liked the proposal and flagged potential coordination with Preservation Parks and the soil & water district on riparian strategies.

Next steps: staff will catalog areas suited for selective treatment, explore timing for work to limit tick exposure, and report back with a scoped plan for service-team participation and potential partnerships.