Grant Brings More Native Plants to Vacant Sites

A $20,000 grant from the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and the Western Reserve Health Foundation will enable the Land Bank to accelerate the use of native plants in the care-taking of vacant properties it acquires.

The grant funds a position to assist in sowing, growing and transplanting native wildflowers for use on properties the Land Bank acquires through tax foreclosures and donations. The Land Bank recently hired an intern, Jillian Lemons, for this role.

The work will take place at Youngstown CityScape at Briel’s, the former Briel’s flower shop on Youngstown’s West Side. 

The Land Bank expects to transplant more than 1,000 native plants at its sites this year, up from several hundred last year.

The Land Bank has shifted away from traditional grass and sod to plants that are native to the Youngstown area. Native plants are more supportive of bees and other pollinators and less expensive over time to maintain than grass that needs to be mowed regularly.