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Fundraiser set for forest
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
Members of the Poland Forest Foundation, Bob Lenga, left and Gordon Longmuir, right, and Forest Board Chairman Bob Zedaker, center, examine improvements made to the Poland Municipal Forest’s Bluebell Trail Wednesday afternoon.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Wine Tasting and Art Sale to benefit Poland Forest Foundation
WHEN: 3 to 5 p.m. May 15
WHERE: Bruno’s Restaurant
ADMISSION: $40 per ticket. Call Linda Weaver at 330-503-5801 to get tickets in advance.
POLAND
For the first time in 60 years, the Poland Forest Foundation is having a fundraiser.
The main objective of the foundation is raising money for the Poland Municipal Forest, said Bob Lenga, foundation president.
The foundation has received large donations from private citizens and Poland Village Council, but now funds from those sources are dwindling, Lenga said.
The foundation will have a Wine Tasting and Art Sale at Bruno’s Restaurant on U.S. Route 224 from 3 to 5 p.m. May 15. The cost is $40 per ticket.
All artwork will have a nature theme, said Valerie Dearing, event organizer.
The foundation is one of three groups that preserve and care for Poland Municipal Forest, a 265-acre wooded area in the southern part of the village.
The Poland Forest Board plans and works with village council on projects and forest rules.
Friends of the Poland Forest is a group of volunteers who help keep the forest clean, provide labor for projects and organize educational programs.
The Poland Forest Foundation raises money to support projects in the forest.
Last year, the three groups worked together to replace a culvert on the popular Bluebell Trail. The project cost $25,000.
Forest Board Chairman Bob Zedaker said the next large project will be repairing the Mauthe Bridge, a green suspension bridge over Yellow Creek.
“We’ll redesign the steps because they’re very steep right now,” Zedaker said.
Gordon Longmuir, the foundation’s vice president, said the popularity of the forest is increasing.
“When I first started walking back here in the winter I would see no one. Now I see a lot of people in here, too, even in the winter,” he said.
But the popularity of the forest also plays a role in the biggest threat to it: encroachment, Zedaker said.
“People want to be near the forest, and they keep building closer and closer,” he said.
Longmuir said long-term goals for the foundation and board include purchasing some land adjacent to the forest.
“That will help us preserve it,” he said.