A New Lens
By Sam Settlemyre, CGC Conservation Program Manager
I find myself thinking about plants a lot. In fact, it’s become the primary lens by which I view the world around me. As I walk through my neighborhood or go to the grocery store, I can’t help myself but to stop and investigate the plants, shrubs and trees I see along the way. However, I didn’t always have this kind of fascination—or perhaps obsession—with the natural world.
Like so many others, my journey into the plant world all started at the Civic Garden Center (CGC). In 2018, I started as a summer intern who knew almost nothing about plants or their cultivation. I had the chance to work with Greg Torres, the CGC’s horticulturist at the time, and he helped open my eyes to the intricacies, beauty and wonder of the natural world.
After that, I was hooked. I began learning to identify plants, which allowed me to look at the green mass of a garden or forest as a collection of unique individuals, each with their own fascinating story and ecological role in the landscape. I was especially captivated by the impact of non-native invasive plants, which I began to see everywhere I went. They lined the trails of every forest I hiked, and I watched as they swallowed native trees and shrubs we had planted at the CGC’s Walnut Woods habitat restoration project.
I’ve always been interested in complicated problems that seem too big to solve, and there are few problems more complex than the global rise of invasive plants, pests and diseases. Our Walnut Woods restoration project was my training ground for invasive plant management. With the help of incredible volunteers, we have been able to battle back the honeysuckle, create a trail system and plant thousands of native trees and shrubs in an effort to establish a healthy ecosystem for students and community members to enjoy. While there have been plenty of ups and downs throughout this project, I found myself inspired to do more.
I joined the board of Northside Greenspace, an all-volunteer nonprofit that manages the forests in Northside, and I began helping friends and family manage invasive plants on their properties. In 2021, I began working with Cincinnati Parks staff to figure out how we could take our successes from Walnut Woods to other parks. It was during this time that we built the framework for the Cincinnati Conservation Stewards (CCS) program. Officially launched in 2023, CCS is a volunteer training program aimed at empowering community members with the knowledge and skills needed to restore and maintain local forested parks. Since its inception, 16 groups have formed that are focused on managing invasive plants, improving trail conditions, replanting native vegetation and organizing volunteer events in their parks. It’s been truly incredible to watch the collective impact a group of passionate volunteers can have on a forest and their local community.
My own journey into the plant kingdom has drastically changed how I think about the world and the impact humans are having on it. While I don’t pretend to have any magic solutions for dealing with complex issues like the invasive species crisis, I believe that it takes a community of passionate, plant-conscious people coming together to create meaningful change. It’s through these communal efforts that we inspire the cultural shift needed to change our destructive behaviors and inspire a deeper appreciation for the natural world.
If you’re still on the hunt for that community, I encourage you to come to our Fall Native Plant Festival on Saturday, September 6, where a bunch of passionate plant people come together to celebrate native plants and the natural world. You’ll be in good company!