Callery pear trees are really easy to spot in the spring — their white, stinky blossoms stand out in neighborhoods, along roads and highways, and in greenspaces like parks and forests. MetroParks of Butler County is encouraging folks to help stop the spread of the invasive trees. The park district just launched what it's calling "Pearmageddon!"
"Callery pears are an invasive species that are prevalent throughout Ohio, not just Butler County, and we are launching a Pearmageddon initiative in order to encourage Butler County residents to get rid of callery pear trees on their property," Katie Ely-Wood, communications manager, tells WVXU. "If a homeowner cuts down a pear tree ... we will give them a replacement tree or bush of a local, native species for free."
Ely-Wood says Pearmageddon includes two varieties of invasive shrubs, too: Japanese barberry and burning bush. Homeowners simply need to cut down or remove the offending plant, take a picture of themself or family member with it, and fill out an online application.
The deadline for Butler County residents to apply is April 2, and you must be able to pick up your replacement plant on Saturday, April 4, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Rentschler Forest MetroPark. There is a limit of one plant per household.
Creating fish habitat from invasive trees
MetroParks is taking a novel approach to reusing some of the invasive callery pears its been cutting down on its own properties. This week a crew sunk a dozen callery pear and unwanted cedar trees from park prairieland in the lake at Voice of America MetroPark.
"We know we have a need for fish habitat in VOA Lake, and callery pears can't reproduce underwater so there's no danger of them spreading at the bottom of VOA Lake," Ely-Wood explains. "Instead of just getting rid of them, we can repurpose them to live another useful life after we cut them down."
The base of each tree is encased in cement. A crew then strategically placed each tree around the lake, making sure they aren't too deep to be of no use to the fish, nor too shallow as to impede lake activities.
"If you go too low, we lose oxygen and the fish aren't going to live there," Ely-Wood says. "We also didn't want them too high because we have triathlons that happen in VOA Lake. We didn't want swimmers to be encountering trees when they were swimming, so we were able to sink them in an appropriate depth in order to fulfill both things."
Pearmageddon response
The online response since MetroParks announced Pearmageddon late Thursday has been swift. Ely-Wood notes the first post had already received 67,000 views as of early Friday afternoon.
One Facebook user writes, "This is a great idea!" Another adds, "Ohhhh lovely, the rotten fish trees! Absolutely hate those trees. Had one in my front yard and a good storm come through and split it in half! Never been happy to get rid of a tree before!"
One commenter hits on an issue many people with callery pears in their yards may be facing: cost. Older, well established trees can cost thousands of dollars to remove.
"I have a huge one in front of my house planted by previous owner but it would cost too much to remove and we can’t afford it sadly," a Facebook user writes.
MetroParks says it's looking for options to help out in the future.
"We've heard from a few people that cost can be a barrier," the agency responds. "We're researching some options for potential grant funding for this program that may give homeowners some help with removal. That's a long way down the road, but I wanted to make sure your comment was heard!"
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