Village Letter to the Editor

Let’s keep our natural environment as healthy as possible!

Several months ago, the Tree Board reported that they would be planting nonnative Ginkgo trees along one of our Village’s streets. I was surprised by this, since there has been so much written in the past decade about the importance of planting native tree and plant varieties to help support beneficial insects and animal life. Ginkgos, native to Asia, are not considered invasive/destructive but they support almost no native birds or beneficial insects. Native trees and insects have evolved together; at a time when our bird and insect populations are crashing it is important to select plants and trees that help them keep going.

Here is a quote from the national Audubon Society in an article by Marina

Richie (2016): “[R]esearch by entomologist Doug Tallamy has shown that native Oaks support more than 550 different species of butterflies and moths alone. The non-native Ginkgo tree supports just 5. Caterpillars are the go-to food source for migrant and resident birds alike. In the 16 days between hatching and fledging, a clutch of Carolina Chickadee chicks can down more than 9,000 of them.” I would hope that in the future only varieties of trees native to our region would be selected for planting by the Tree Board.

In a related question, is there a need to have The Barn’s cupola lit up all night long? I live close to The Barn and agree that seeing it lit up for a part of the night is lovely. But by now it is also well known that lighting up prominent features like the cupola can disorient birds as they migrate in the spring and fall. Additionally, during the warm months when moths and other native insects are out, lights like this have been shown to attract and exhaust the insects to the point of death. Farmers and gardeners rely on pollinators, including native moth populations. Would it be possible to limit the hours that public buildings in our Village are lit up at night – perhaps turning off the lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.?

I know that we all enjoy the beauty of nature that surrounds us in the beautiful Village we call home. Let’s do what we can to protect this natural world!

Linda Roomann, 6987 Grace Avenue

Editor’s Note: Please see the Tree Board article on pg. 10 for a detailed journey through Mariemont’s tree planting plan.