Presented by Gayle Ficken-Clarke who is a current member of the Miami Group Political Committee and has been for several years. She was recruited by Debbie Clark, a Master Gardener friend from Wyoming, and was surprised and happy to find so many of her friends already members of the Miami Group Sierra Club.
Gayle has been retired from Procter & Gamble for many years now. Once retired, she searched out compatible volunteer opportunities and found them at the Civic Garden Center, the Herb Society of Greater Cincinnati, and most recently, Taking Root. Few people have heard of it, but it is a non-profit initiated by the OKI Regional Planning Authority to encourage tree planting to lessen the impact of climate change in our area. Having been a Master Gardener and privileged to take many tree classes from Boone County Horticulture agent Mike Klahr, Gayle already valued trees. She learned even more from the people active in Taking Root. With a friend, Gayle founded a volunteer group as part of Taking Root. They focused their efforts of tree planting on one specific day, Make a Difference Day the fourth Saturday in October, and have been doing this for five years. They have been responsible for over 1000 trees planted in yards, communities, and parks!
In her presentation, Gayle talked about her experience in organizing this volunteer group and how their efforts have initiated spin-offs in Norwood and the city of Sidney, Ohio. Every year they have a tree sale late in September where nursery-grown native trees are sold at wholesale prices. The trees are shipped to Spring Grove Cemetery where buyers can pick up their order. This has been a rewarding activity for all involved. Gayle was motivated to develop this talk about reflecting her experience on tree plantings after hearing Cincinnati Zoo’s Scott Beuerline’s fascinating talks on the importance of trees.
