Moses Wright Nature Area Restoration
The Moses Wright Nature Area is located in Worthington's East Granville Park at 245 E. Granville Road. It is set back from 161, behind the playground. Please visit and enjoy this special nature area.
The Moses Wright Nature Area features some of Worthington's most diversified habitats and serves as an interpretive site for forest succession. As in other Worthington parks, the native understory of the Moses Wright Nature Area has become overrun with honeysuckle and other invasive plant species, which choke out native plants and degrade the natural wildlife habitat.
Sustainable Worthington, a local grassroots organization, is sponsoring a restoration project of the nature area, eradicating invasives, reintroducing native plants, and educating the public. Along with the City of Worthington, Sustainable Worthington is working to restore the biodiversity and ecological health of our urban forests.
To get involved in this forest restoration project or for more information about Sustainable Worthington, please Contact Us.
Invasive Species at Moses Wright
The two most invasive non-native species found in the Moses Wright Nature Area are bush honeysuckle and garlic mustard.
Garlic mustard is a biennial plant imported to North America in the 1800s as a culinary herb. It spreads rapidly by seeds, and it has been rapidly marching across the United States and invading the forest understory. The plant is rather attractive the first year, and unsuspecting people often leave it alone when they see it in their gardens. The following spring, however, the plant reveals its true nature as a garden thug: It competes with wildflowers for space, light, and nutrients, effectively crowding them out and disrupting the natural ecosystem.
You can see photographs of garlic mustard and read more about this species at the following link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliaria_petiolata
Bush honeysuckle generally refers to three species of honeysuckle, all imported from Asia in the 1800s. Their first intended use was ornamental, but they were also found to be useful for erosion control.
Unfortunately, bush honeysuckles are aggressively invasive. They leaf out before native species, and lose their leaves later than natives as well, effectively shading out the forest understory. They like disturbed areas and sunlight but can grow anywhere. Although birds like the berries, and are responsible for helping with the honeysuckle’s rapid spread, the honeysuckle fruit is the equivalent of junk food for them. As the honeysuckle displaces the native food sources, bird populations find less good food sources available to them—a particular problem for migrating birds.
You can see photos and learn more about bush honeysuckles at the following link: ohiodnr.com/dnap/