You can’t say the words “environment” and “New Albany” without thinking immediately of octogenarian and self-proclaimed “nature guy” Bill Resch. Resch is a local pioneer and a bit of a community legend. But he’s still working tirelessly on environmental endeavors in New Albany and beyond.
Environmental Stewardship
Resch’s influence and leadership has significantly shaped New Albany, and particularly the city center and surrounding areas, including Rose Run Park and the 86-acre nature preserve adjacent to the New Albany-Plain Local Schools (NAPLS) campus. He collaborated with a tapestry of community leaders and organizations to ensure the preservation and use of this land for future generations.
The nature preserve hosts 12 outdoor classrooms and provides tremendous opportunities for outdoor learning and nature exploration. The preserve includes all of the unique habitats in the temperate zone including old growth forest in Swickard woods, emergent marsh, vernal pool wetlands, intermittent streams, early grove forest, shrub woods and wildflower meadows. The large wetland serves as an important natural mechanism to cleanse storm water from parking lots and buildings that flows into Rose Run and Sugar Run.
The area is used by NAPLS students of all ages. Additionally, high school students from 16 school districts utilize the preserve and take part in the NAPLS environmental science curriculum. It’s also used as a test and research center by The Ohio State University and Columbus State Community College. The nature preserve is an exemplary model that demonstrates it’s possible technologically to preserve nature within an urban environment and make nature available and accessible to residents.
Restoration of Rose Run Park and Waterway
Thirty-five years ago, the area at the heart of the historical village center was an open sewer, uninhabitable except to leeches and black flies. Resch is proud to contribute to the restoration of what is now Rose Run Park. That work helped return the waterway to the condition it existed in 150 years ago. Through the process of soil boring and analysis of historical photographs, the
project restored the ecology and hydrology of the area to its original state. Resch says this is one of the “best examples of applying ecological engineering to restore natural areas and watersheds.”
Despite these tremendous advances, Resch’s still worries about waterways, particularly the Rocky Fork and Blacklick Creek watersheds. Resch cites contaminated construction drainage as the No. 1 form of pollution in central Ohio. If unrestricted, muddy runoff flows into streams, killing aquatic life and nesting species, destroying eggs and species reproduction, and clogging the gills of fish and clams.
Resch is determined to maintain the precious ecological habitats to allow aquatic life to flourish. He’s a founding member of the Friends of the Rocky Fork Watershed & Sugar Run-Rose Run Tributaries, which works to preserve and protect those resources for both people and wildlife. Various community groups, students and individuals are members of the group and new members are welcome.
Resch’s pioneering spirit and dedication to environmental stewardship is truly awe-inspiring. He credits his own mentor of 30 years, Dr. William Mitsch, an ecosystem ecologist and ecological engineer, for putting him on the path to become the environmental maverick he is today.
Mitsch was co-laureate of the 2004 Stockholm Water Prize as a result of his career in wetland ecology and restoration, ecological engineering, and ecological modeling. Mitsch is currently the Director of the Everglades Wetland Research Park and Juliet C. Sproul Chair for Southwest Florida Habitat Restoration and Management at Florida Gulf Coast University. Previously, Mitsch was a professor at OSU and director of the OSU Olentangy River Wetland Research Park. His research is fascinating and great reading for anyone interested in such topics.
Most important to Resch now is truly keeping nature at the forefront of our lives. In his mind, nature should not be a “destination,” but a part of our daily lives accessible right outside of our front doors. He envisions a community where people can access local parks and waterways via walking and biking trails connected to every neighborhood.
A project Resch is involved in that would do just that is called RAPID5: Rivers And Parks Imaginative Design. Find more information at rapid5.org. RAPID5 looks to reconnect communities to nature by creating pedestrian and cyclist trail networks along forested riparian banks of all five major central Ohio watersheds, including the Big Darby, Olentangy, Scioto, Alum Creek and Big Walnut Creek. The visionary behind the RAPID5 plan is Keith Myers, who previously served as New Albany’s Professional Master Planning Consultant for 22 years. Myers is currently the President of the Columbus Urban Land Institute but served.
A small and emerging local group in the community, “The Earth Defenders,” is dedicated to preserving Resch’s work and legacy. Led by two NAPLS teachers, the group aspires to engage community members and promote the many benefits of nature including education, mental health and the pure joy of being outside. The group meets monthly to discuss how they can support each other and to share resources. New members are welcome. For more information, contact Pete Barnes: Barnes.1@napls.us.
Thanks to the work of Resch, along with other community groups and individuals similarly dedicated to the stewardship of our natural environment, the New Albany nature preserve areas will be enjoyed for generations to come. And that, I know, is Resch’s most beloved achievement.
Angela Douglas is the executive director of Healthy New Albany.
