Lending (400) hands: Edgewood MS students help give Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area new life

SHREVE − When Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area manager Dennis Solon woke up June 15 of last year, his emotions ran in a million directions, as straight-line winds the night before had devastated what he and his staff of Ohio Division of Wildlife technicians had spent decades managing.

Trees were splintered and strewn by the 100-mph winds, piled up everywhere, and the 5,703-acres of state-owned land looked nothing like it did just 12 hours earlier.

Just over the hill from the KMWA sits the land of Jim Figley and Devon Miller, who also experienced downed trees and devastation, just as thousands of landowners in Wayne and Holmes counties did.

More: 'I've never seen such damage.' Storm cleanup continues in Wayne, Holmes counties

Figley, though, just so happens to be the seventh grade science teacher at Edgewood Middle School in Wooster, while Miller owns Deer Creek Hardwoods where he buys standing timber. While they both had their own messes to clean up, they also wanted to help Solon and the staff at the KMWA with their predicament.

For Miller, that meant putting together a bid to clean up the storm damage, with the payout whatever profits he could salvage from the downed trees. The state did not have the money to pay to have the work done.

Then in Figley’s case, he had 200 students who could lend a hand as Edgewood was looking for an outdoor education day experience, something that hadn’t happened at the school in a few years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A chance to learn civic responsibility, stewardship and planting trees along the way

So, Figley, volunteer parents and other Edgewood teachers, Miller and the staff at the KMWA met for two days to make a difference, and to begin the rebirth of the Wildlife Area.

“This gives us an opportunity to experience and learn about civic responsibility,” Figleyn said. “We’re learning about stewardship, and we’re passing it on.

“We’re planting trees on one of the greatest assets this area has to offer, the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area, and it’s right in our backyard.”

Students were separated into groups, and pitched in planting Norway Spruce seedlings, spreading clover seeds and providing some muscle to move brush and debris. The second day was capped off down at the marsh’s edge where students got to see a rehabilitated beaver released, itself experiencing a rebirth.

“Our first goal today,” said KMWA technician Erich Long, “is for the kids to get outside, get them exposed to the Wildlife Area and what it takes to manage the Wildlife Area.”

And as Long, and many others said, the plan was to lend a hand in re-foresting the Wildlife Area from the storm damage. And hopefully, someday, the students can look back and say: “I had a part in that.”

“As always in life,” said Long, “it’s never about the now, but it’s about the future.”

As the name says, the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area is an area for wildlife. It’s meant to be a home for waterfowl and mammals, birds and pollinators. For hunters and outdoor enthusiasts, hikers and bird watchers. But, the high winds last summer made parts of the Wildlife Area unpassable, even for deer and turkey.

With dibble bar and plants in hand, students were put to work

That’s where Miller and his company came in, but during the two outdoor education days, he was leading the charge in the re-forestation of the KMWA. With dibble bar (tool to open the ground for seedlings) and plants in hand, he put students to work.

“By planting trees, we’re increasing wildlife habitat,” said Miller. “It was heartbreaking for all of us to see the devastation to the forest that had been there for so many years. And, it was sad to see how many trees that were too young to harvest come down in the storm. But, it’s God’s way of opening the canopy and allowing the opportunity for new trees to grow.”

Miller and Solon chose to plant several thousand Norway Spruce as they are relatively fast-growing (10-12 inches a year) and should live 50-75 years. The other benefit of the Norway Spruce is that its prickly needles discourage deer from nibbling the emerging buds.

Miller also explained to the students that not every tree his company cut was gone forever. The roots are still alive, and some stumps (elm for example) are given a second chance to grow into a forest. Not to mention stashed acorns from squirrels and blue jays that will sprout into oak trees now that the canopy is opened.

'You're doing it for the future wildlife'

“Whatever you think you’re doing here today,” said Long, “you’re doing it for future wildlife.”

As a teacher, Figley saw other benefits to the outdoor education days.

“This is a different opportunity for the kids,” said Figley, “and the more experiences they can have, the more direction they will have as to which path they want to travel.”

Whether you call it a second chance, a rebirth or a re-forestation, it wasn’t just the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area that got a helping hand last week, but the 200 Edgewood Middle School seventh-graders did as well. And if one, or two or 10 students were smitten, influenced or intrigued, what that grows into is every bit as important as what the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area will grow into in the future.

Outdoor correspondent Art Holden can be reached at letsplabal@yahoo.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Lending (400) hands: Edgewood kids do heavy lifting at Killbuck marsh