A Virtual Tour of Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum

By Ally Duffy —

March 4^th marked the virtual monthly meeting of the “What’s in Our Backyard” series led by Miami University’s Professor Janelle Allen. The series covers different green spaces by speaking to the beauty and overall benefits to the Middletown community. 

Professor Allen began the presentation by highlighting the quality of the Middletown Miami Regional’s campus, and all the natural and green areas that surround it. She relayed the importance of maintaining Middletown’s “Tree City” title, given to locations with ample amounts of mature trees, through the maintenance and preservation of the Regional’s “Tree Campus.”

Following an overview of previously discussed park spaces surrounding Middletown’s Regional campus, such as Goldman Park and Dowling Park, Prof. Allen spoke of the benefits they provide to the community, including benefits to health and wellness, air and water purification, and the potential for research. She spoke of tree chemicals and earthing energy flow that have been known to improve an individual’s mental health, as well as improve the overall quality of the region.

After introducing the overall premise of the series and its importance, Allen introduced the featured green space for this month’s meeting, Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum. She led the presentation through images of the Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum official website, which depicted the green space in every season. The pictures also included depictions of the areas of interest within the space, such as the Veteran Memorial, sitting areas, and trails throughout the 135 acres. As Prof. Allen spoke of different features of the space, she added the links to the source used and highlighted information for annual events in the Zoom chat.

Additionally, as she spoke to the many features of the Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum, she included information on the importance of mature trees throughout the Middletown community and across the world. She highlighted the increase to natural disasters, such as wildfires, due to the dry soil from the lack of extensive root systems that are provided in a “virgin” forest. The water vapor that’s in the air in an area with significant mature trees is higher in concentration than it is within an area that is filled with young trees or no trees at all. Her point in mentioning this aspect seemed to center around raising awareness to the importance of these green spaces, while backing the argument with research-based information.

After concluding the presentation of Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum, Allen opened the meeting to questions and discussion. While she asked attendees about any of the green spaces that they visit, Allen added the parks mentioned to the Zoom chat. Further discussion was had regarding the importance of having mature trees rather than young trees, as well as societal restrictions that dictate the types of trees that are allowed to be planted, such as HOA, and the impact of such restrictions. 

To conclude the meeting, Prof. Allen urged the attendees to visit and enjoy the green spaces of Middletown, and to raise awareness when possible of the importance of these areas. She also provided the information for the next segment of the series, which is set to occur on April 1^st at 4:00 PM. It will be available online via Zoom or in-person at the Gardner Harvey Library, for those that wish to attend and learn more about the green spaces in the Middletown “Tree City.” All information about future events can be found on the university’s website.