Walnut Woods Metro Park officials recently hired a company to remove a large number of invasive callery pear trees that took root in a 30-acre area in the park near its border with Groveport’s Heritage Park. “We just removed the invasive callery pear tree from the area. The workers completed that area and it looks great,” said Walnut Woods Park Manager Mindi McConnell. “We were happy to hear that there were many native tree species mixed in with the invasive species. So we will let those native trees grow and reforest the area.” McConnell said starlings eat the callery pear trees’ berries and spread them widely across the land and, if it is a bare field, the trees quickly take over. The tree originated in China and southeast Asia and was imported to the United States in the 1960s as an ornamental tree. The tree is now considered an invasive species of tree by arborists because it drives out native species. Pictured here is an area recently cleared of the callery pear tree.
