City of Upper Arlington
Sunny 95 Park- Upper Arlington
Appointments at 8 a.m., meetings at 1 p.m., practices at 5 p.m., a work trip next week and no time for rest – sound familiar? With the hustle and bustle of daily life, we often run from one place to another, preoccupied with everyday tasks.
An easy and effective way to relieve stress, practice wellness and spend quality time with family is simply slowing down and walking among the trees right here in Tri-Village.
Green in Grandview
The City of Grandview Heights emphasizes that community members’ relationship with nature is of the utmost importance, and Grandview Heights has long been an advocate for growing and maintaining trees and green space in the community.
City of Grandview Heights
Wyman Woods- Grandview Heights
Over the years, Sustainable Grandview and the City have partnered to nurse Grandview’s ‘Urban Tree Canopy.’ And if a resident’s parkway tree dies, they can request a replacement tree for free.
Grandview Heights Public Library has also partnered with the City to offer Storywalks where children and families can walk around Wyman Woods and C. Ray Buck Park while practicing reading skills and connecting with nature. Neighborhood parks, including Tarpy Woods and Parkwood Park, make planting your feet in the grass easy.
One with the trees
Maisie Fitzmaurice
Mark Bucha
As you hike deeper into the wooded area of Wyman Woods, you may forget that you’re less than a mile away from a major highway. With each step, the droning noise of cars fades into sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling.
Certified Forest Therapist Guide and Grandview native Mark Bucha has made it his mission to bring more people here and to other local wooded areas to rest their minds, restore their mental health and appreciate nature through forest therapy and nature walks.
Bucha, a social worker, was inspired to start hosting forest therapy sessions after feeling the benefits that spending time in the woods had on his mental health. He researched why this was and discovered the Japanese practice of forest bathing, which is, quite literally, spending time in the forest. ‘Bathing’ refers to taking in the phytoncides – organic compounds emitted by plants – which were found to have a positive effect on human immune systems.
This led to him completing a six-month training session at the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs before he began offering it to the public.
“There’s a Native American saying that goes, ‘If you talk to the animals, animals will talk back. If you talk to plants, the plants will talk back. But if you don't talk to the plants and animals, you don't know the plants and animals.’ The point is, what you don't know you fear, and what you fear you destroy,” Bucha says.
For more information go to www.intothewildwalks.net
Upper Arlington's naturalized havens
While Bucha found an outdoor oasis in Grandview Heights’ Wyman Woods, Samantha Simmons, parks and forestry superintendent at City of Upper Arlington, found hers in Upper Arlington’s Thompson Park.
The City of Upper Arlington’s Naturalized Area Management project designates certain parts of the City’s parks and green spaces to be admired and protected. One of these areas is in Thompson Park and includes a vernal pool that becomes a small, seasonal wetland teeming with life.
“It's just really cool to see the little ecosystem that is there,” Simmons says.
Like Grandview Heights, Upper Arlington values its green spaces – big or small – within the city for residents to soak up the benefits of nature.
“There are so many opportunities for passive use of our parks, even if you’re just sitting on one of our benches, breathing in, surrounded by nature. I think that that’s promoting wellness,” she says. “It’s good for health – not only physical but mental health for the community. (The spaces) allow people to have that everyday nature experience.”
Both Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington are designated Tree City U.S.A. award winners for their tree maintenance and growth initiatives as well as their Arbor Day celebrations.
Eye Spy
Kaiya Inouye
White Fringetree
When visiting your community parks, keep an eye out for these flora and fauna:
- Bald Eagles
- Hawks
- Salamanders
- Virginia Bluebells
- White Fringetree
- Eastern Redbud trees
Can I bring my furry friend?
GH: Yes, at all parks except for: Pierce Field, McKinley Field, Wyman Woods (except on the perimeter path) and C. Ray Buck Sports Park.
UA: Yes, at all parks, but must be leashed 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Note: It is illegal in both cities to not clean up and dispose of pet waste.
Maisie Fitzmaurice is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mfitzmaurice@cityscenemediagroup.com.
