EAP Establishes Collaboration with OSU School of Environment and Natural Resources

During the Autumn 2024 semester at Ohio State University we partnered with the School of Environment and Natural Resources’ (SENR) capstone course for the first time to further develop our meadow reclamation project at Pathways Park.

Throughout the semester, group members made several site visits to the park in an effort to best document existing conditions. They recorded and categorized areas exhibiting dominant species existence, which guided recommendations on best use practices for our vegetation transformation process. Equipped with their maps and data showing where native, woody, grass, wetland, and other non-native vegetation are present at Pathways Park, the students were able to apply what they researched about conversion methods to our landscape specifically. Along with existing conditions, the group also assessed how to best convert specific areas within the park for our desired vegetative outcomes, and provided recommendations and information on scalping, smothering, solarizing, prescribed burns, herbicide applications, and soil inversion.

Ultimately the students produced and provided extensive literature on Ecological Assessment and Future Monitoring, Meadow Vegetation Transformation Plan, Funding and Grant Research, and a Pathways Park GIS and Soil Map.

Thanks to the students’ passion, commitment, and investment into this project and Pathways Park, Final Third will be able to apply what we’ve learned from their thorough final report to enhance not just the appearance and beauty of our landscape, but the health of it as well.

We are excited to continue this partnership and project into the next semester, where we will be working with a new group of students on the development of our meadow reclamation at Pathways Park.

If you are interested in viewing the students’ final reports or getting involved in the project in anyway, please contact our Director of Environmental Awareness, Max Rosenthal, at max@finalthirdfoundation.org