Dedication of California Woods Nature Preserve- Hamilton County, OH

5400 Kellogg Avenue,Cincinnati OH 45230

07 December, 2022

Description

California Woods in Hamilton County, Ohio will be inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network on Wednesday, December 7 at 2 p.m. Brian Kane, Mid-Atlantic Director of the Old-Growth Forest Network, will present a plaque to Cincinnati Parks director Jason Barron and to Gia Giammarinaro, head naturalist at California Woods Nature preserve. California Woods will be the 23rd old-growth forest dedicated in Ohio, and the 185th in the United States. An optional guided walk on the Trillium Valley Trail will occur after the dedication. The forest is located on the homelands of the Myaamia and Shawnee peoples, who inhabited this region near the river for several centuries before European settlement. California Woods is an area of approximately 50 acres of old-growth forest within the woodlands of the 113-acre California Woods Nature Preserve, managed by Cincinnati Parks. The forest’s age, its protection from winds and its deep, fertile soils have allowed it to support trees of significant stature. At least two are over 150 feet tall, and at least 11 measure over 140 feet in height,. Three of the forest’s trees - a bur oak, a red hickory and a yellow buckeye- are the tallest known for their species in Ohio. The forest also hosts the world’s tallest known specimens of black walnut, hackberry, chinkapin oak, and honeylocust. The old growth area formerly had height champions for shagbark hickory, bitternut hickory, black cherry, and northern red oak. Photo courtesy of J. Duerbeck