Tree Tubes to Protect Our Trees!- April 29, 2023

We planted over 250 trees and shrubs at our church as part of their effort to restore the grounds to a more native and ecologically functioning habitat. It is hard investing all the time, effort, and money into planting trees, only to have them serve as salad for the neighborhood deer. Installing tree tubes for deer protection is expensive when compared to the cost of the tree seedlings we planted ($2 each), but cheap compared to the future benefits of this new woodland. In this video we show how we installed the tubes, and the options we considered when trying to keep costs down for tree staking. This project is part of a greater native plant restoration on the church's whole 70 acre campus that includes, 1) converting unnecessary lawn areas to functioning ecosystems, 2) removing non-native invasive species from existing woodlands to release the native flora that may already be present, and 3) modify existing formal landscaping so that, at the very least, it doesn't contain any species that would invade and overpower the native plant community, and hopefully, add more native plants that will look beautiful and still provide habitat for our native flora and fauna. We think God would be pleased.

Oak Haven is a 60-acre private woodland in Southwestern Ohio near Cincinnati. Jim and Julie Varick both have degrees in Botany and over thirty years of experience in managing natural areas. They enjoy sharing their enthusiasm for the natural world and would like to build relationships with like-minded people to share knowledge and resources.

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• #tree_planting
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• #stakes
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• #creation_care
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• #ecological_restoration
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