Love Your Alley, a part of Bexley City Council’s Green Bexley initiative, is gearing up for its summer kickoff event in May with an emphasis on student involvement.
Chair of Love Your Alley Rebecca Ness said the event will be Saturday, May 11 at the Clifton Shelter House near the Bexley Pool. She said there will be music, art, free native plants, crafts and education on gardening.
Ness stressed the importance of native plants, saying they attract pollinators like the thousands of bee species native to Ohio. Additionally, native plants require less water to survive, she added.
“These kinds of plants are meant to be here,” she explained. “They know what to do with this soil, sunlight and environment. Planting them in our gardens and alleys means there is less upkeep.”
She said experts from Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative will be at the event to answer questions on native plants and gardening. A common misconception is plants don’t matter, she said.
“Plants are the foundation of our food web, so everything from insects to birds to humans rely on them,” Ness explained.
Mayor Ben Kessler founded Love Your Alley in 2012 to keep the alleys safe for cars, Ness explained, but she has helped morph it into a bigger project.
Beyond festivals like the one in May, Ness said there are classes and renovations available. She added there are expert gardeners who give talks on their niche such as monarch butterflies or birds.
According to the Love Your Alley website, the next class is May 2, and an archive of past talks can be found on the Bexley Public Library website.
“We have a wide variety of classes for everyone,” Ness said. “They’re open to the public, and we’d always like to see more students.”
Senior and Environmental Club Co-President Addison Helon said she has been a part of Love Your Alley for several years.
“If people are looking to get involved, go to places that already exist because they usually have spaces for students to advocate and be involved,” she explained.
Ness said there are large-scale installations available for whole blocks where a team will come and take out weeds and non-native plants, replacing them with native plants that feed the pollinators. Insects are very important for the ecosystem since they help pollinate and keep other populations in line, she added.
Helon explained Environmental Club helps organize volunteers for alley cleanups.
“It’s all about making the space more sustainable and easier to maintain,” she said. “It’s better for everyone involved.”
Ness said student involvement is a huge help, and she looks forward to seeing more young people be active in environmentalism.
The Love Your Alley committee, Ness said, provides further opportunities for students to get involved beyond installations and classes.
This is a great way for students to advocate in their community and cultivate connections with others, she added.
Ness said student involvement is a huge help and she looks forward to seeing more.
“The environment is something we should all care about,” Ness said. “It’s our home. Without it, we wouldn’t exist.”
