Speaker 1: And welcome back for the final hour of today's show.
Speaker 1: He is floating by gentlemen. I'm here with John Butcher
Speaker 1: from Madison treecair and Landscape h Scot and my boss
Speaker 1: Steve Foltz from the Cincinni Zoo and Botanical Gardens. And
Speaker 1: now we are joined by Charlie Frank from the Cincinnati
Speaker 1: Reds Community Fund.
Speaker 2: Hi, Scott, John, Steve, how are we doing?
Speaker 1: Guys? Great? Great, good to have you here. Uh, you
Speaker 1: know the Reds Fund. First of all, you guys do
Speaker 1: great work. We'll get to that in a minute, but
Speaker 1: I want to go back and find out, like how
Speaker 1: it started, how long ago? Is it unique among the
Speaker 1: Major League Baseball teams to have a fund like this?
Speaker 2: You know, back in the early part of the century,
Speaker 2: just about every team and all the four major North
Speaker 2: American sports were rebuilding their arenas, and the vast majority
Speaker 2: of those projects were publicly funded. So that's a time
Speaker 2: where most of the teams went from maybe just having
Speaker 2: a small community relations arm to having a foundation. Just
Speaker 2: about every team and pro sports now does have some
Speaker 2: public five oh one C three effort. And you know
Speaker 2: what really jumped ours to light speed with the Reds.
Speaker 2: We started in two thousand and one, and when the
Speaker 2: Castellini ownership group came in in two thousand and six,
Speaker 2: they really supercharged it.
Speaker 1: They believe in.
Speaker 2: Projects like the one we're going to be talking about
Speaker 2: that have a connection to baseball and softball, but a
Speaker 2: much broader community focus. And I'll tell you what they've
Speaker 2: They've done everything they've promised out in the community they
Speaker 2: said they would do. I mean, we reads built our
Speaker 2: youth academy and the Roselawn neighborhood back in twenty fourteen.
Speaker 2: Can't believe it's been open twelve years now. But so
Speaker 2: many field renovation projects, but now seventeen of these community
Speaker 2: makeovers and these are the jewels.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they're so cool and that commitment from the top
Speaker 1: is so foundational, so important, and the Castelinie, as you said,
Speaker 1: have been so committed to this and they really beautiful
Speaker 1: to watch.
Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks Scott, they really have. I mean a lot
Speaker 2: of folks don't know. They spent ten years as limited
Speaker 2: partners with the Saint Louis Cardinals before they had the
Speaker 2: opportunity to purchase the Reds, and before that they were
Speaker 2: involved with the Texas Rangers when they were owned by
Speaker 2: George W. Bush, and they were involved with the Baltimore Oriols,
Speaker 2: so they really had an idea of what this was about,
Speaker 2: not just in terms of baseball, but what it means
Speaker 2: to the community. And you know, the Castellini family and
Speaker 2: the Williams family and our shareholders that make up our
Speaker 2: ownership team, they are locally focused and they really see
Speaker 2: the importance of what the Reds can do, what that
Speaker 2: brand means to this not market, but to this region.
Speaker 2: It can really help convene partners, it can help shine
Speaker 2: a light on good work, and they've been all about that.
Speaker 2: I've been with the team. This is my twenty third year,
Speaker 2: so I was there a couple of years before they arrived,
Speaker 2: and I can tell you that they really have backed
Speaker 2: up their promises when they arrived. They have opened up
Speaker 2: every door in the community in a way that I
Speaker 2: don't think most fans could even understand and appreciate it. Well,
Speaker 2: I'll understand, certainly, but it may not appreciate fully.
Speaker 1: What is some of the other funding that supports the
Speaker 1: community fund?
Speaker 2: Well, you know, we are budget's about three million a
Speaker 2: year and about a third of that comes from you know,
Speaker 2: ballpark revenue. We have our fifth fifty Raffle.
Speaker 1: I've never won it.
Speaker 2: I know people that have won it multiple times. I'll
Speaker 2: try to get some notes from them. It's promise, it's
Speaker 2: all on the up and up. It's all digital and legal.
Speaker 2: But yeah, it So that's a big one for us,
Speaker 2: as it is for most teams around the league. It's
Speaker 2: all governed by by state laws, so some teams.
Speaker 1: Can't do it.
Speaker 2: But we we also are like any you know, five
Speaker 2: oh one c three. We're out there, you know, pounding
Speaker 2: the pavement, knocking on doors, building relationships, finding people that
Speaker 2: that have that Reds connection, but also really believe in
Speaker 2: the work that we're doing. We have about a half
Speaker 2: a dozen major events every year, from the opening day
Speaker 2: block party to the Red Legs Run, to our our
Speaker 2: recent telethon with you know, in partnership with panc Bank,
Speaker 2: and we've got our Marty Brunheman Golf event coming up
Speaker 2: in September, which is a big annual fundraiser. Of course Redsfest,
Speaker 2: which includes a poker tournament. So we have a lot
Speaker 2: of traditional foundation fundraising, but we also you mentioned top down, Scott.
Speaker 2: I mean, we get incredible support from our ownership, from
Speaker 2: our players, every single Reds player is either donating to
Speaker 2: the fund this year or has pledged money based on
Speaker 2: a statistical category like one hundred dollars for every save
Speaker 2: or strikeout, how many starts they get, Yeah, something like that. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean TJ. Friedel gives us money for every bunt hit,
Speaker 2: you know, stuff like that, some cool stuff. So our
Speaker 2: players are really engaged. It really is top down support.
Speaker 1: You know, before the horticulture aspect came in, tell me
Speaker 1: about what would a typical community Reds Fund project look like.
Speaker 2: Well, you know, we launched what we called the home
Speaker 2: Field Makeover, you know, sort of similar to the TV
Speaker 2: show at the time, and we were renovating ball fields
Speaker 2: and when P and G came to us to say, hey,
Speaker 2: let's you know, we do a big annual volunteer effort
Speaker 2: with our marketing teams from all over the city, you know, Cincinnati,
Speaker 2: Northern Kentucky. In twenty ten, we started in Winton Hills
Speaker 2: and we had just built Brandon Phillips Field down behind
Speaker 2: the old Cape High School which is now the Jacob Center.
Speaker 2: It's part of CPS's what Steve sixty seven Green Spaces
Speaker 2: that they control here and operate and then we found
Speaker 2: the next year that hey, you know, going indoor and outdoor.
Speaker 2: We went to North College Hill in twenty eleven and
Speaker 2: realized that doing the indoor work was really important too,
Speaker 2: because if you're coordinating several hundred volunteers, it's not necessarily
Speaker 2: a possibility to have a rain.
Speaker 1: Date, right.
Speaker 2: So and the more people that we were able to,
Speaker 2: you know, to mobilize, the more work we could do.
Speaker 2: In North College Hill that you're we were building a
Speaker 2: new baseball field on a site that had been an
Speaker 2: elementary school that had just been demolished, and then the
Speaker 2: school superintendent said, hey, you know there's another vacant elementary school.
Speaker 2: We were not going to knock that one down. You know,
Speaker 2: our goal is to turn this one into a community center.
Speaker 2: And we worked with P and G and deployed about
Speaker 2: another one hundred volunteers and we painted and we mulched,
Speaker 2: and you know, the police department moved in there, and
Speaker 2: we thought, wow, those things could be pretty cool. We
Speaker 2: went to Shivat in twenty twelve and which was a
Speaker 2: great project, but then finally went inside city limits in
Speaker 2: twenty thirteen, and that's when Steve and Mark Fisher and
Speaker 2: Thane Maynard and the team from the zoo.
Speaker 1: Zoo breaths.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: They were like, hey, you're in our backyard. We were
Speaker 2: working at Gabriel's Place over on Running Road and at
Speaker 2: the Hirsch Recreation Center, and that's when we were able
Speaker 2: to connect with children's and with the zoo and Potanical
Speaker 2: Garden because again we were nearby.
Speaker 1: And I remember.
Speaker 2: Mark Fisher telling me afterwards, I'm like, man, I sure
Speaker 2: hope this isn't a one and done. He goes, we're
Speaker 2: the Cincinnati Zoo, Yeah, or not the Avondale's who don't worry.
Speaker 2: We'll you know, we'll stick around. And boy have they
Speaker 2: stuck around, so, you know, to answer your question, Scott
Speaker 2: started with ball fields. We weren't, you know, we weren't
Speaker 2: creative enough, smart enough. I wasn't to kind of see
Speaker 2: this thing in three D. But boy, Mark and Steve
Speaker 2: and the Zoo were able to see it, and the
Speaker 2: way they brought Gabriel's Place to life changed this project
Speaker 2: and really changed the Community Fund forever.
Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about that when we come back. We
Speaker 1: need to take a break. So Charlie Frank with us
Speaker 1: from the Reds Community Fund, Steve and John, we'll be
Speaker 1: back in just a couple of minutes.
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Speaker 1: Welcome back. Let's garden with Scott Berlin. I'm Scott. I'm
Speaker 1: here with Jim and John No, John and Steve and
Speaker 1: Charlie Frank, the executive director of the Reds Community Fund,
Speaker 1: and we're talking about the community makeovers that you've done
Speaker 1: for seventeen years. Yeahen, wow, And and you just had
Speaker 1: what was it two weeks ago? Three weeks ago, a
Speaker 1: really amazing project and Steve was very instrumental in helping
Speaker 1: you put together the horticultural aspect of that. And I
Speaker 1: want to turn you guys loose to talk about it.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, so it was just two weeks ago, Thursday,
Speaker 2: July twenty third, we were in Winton Hills wrapping up
Speaker 2: what really is about it. It's a year long project
Speaker 2: to identify the next neighborhood project, to get to know
Speaker 2: the neighborhood leaders, which takes time. I mean that doesn't
Speaker 2: you know, can't just walk in and get to know
Speaker 2: a neighborhood in one sitting, and and then to come
Speaker 2: up with the scope of work and the budget. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's it's really kind of a very precise exercise but
Speaker 2: when you have partners like the Zoo and Botanical Garden,
Speaker 2: p and G Children's, Duke Energy, Kroger Ge, it's you know,
Speaker 2: it's amazing the talent and you know, this iconic roster
Speaker 2: of Greater Cincinnati, you know, community leaders that you have
Speaker 2: at the table. It's really exciting to see, you know,
Speaker 2: what can get done. And we got to keep learning
Speaker 2: the neighborhood. It's not like you just all right, well
Speaker 2: here's what we do. And you know, you can't just
Speaker 2: walk into Winon Hills and say well, we're going to
Speaker 2: work in your school and we're going to build this
Speaker 2: behind your community center. And you got to figure out
Speaker 2: where the need is, what the one is, what the
Speaker 2: kids want, what the leadership at the schools I mean,
Speaker 2: And that's to me the most rewarding piece of it.
Speaker 2: And when you talk about transformational change, that's a big word,
Speaker 2: you know, and who's the side of something is transformational?
Speaker 2: But you know what Steve and his horticulture team are
Speaker 2: able to do with these projects. And this year, you know,
Speaker 2: Steve did something that hasn't been done anywhere locally, nationally, anywhere.
Speaker 2: He literally brought in over one hundred trees and a
Speaker 2: vision for this Tree School that he's got to describe
Speaker 2: because to see the before and after this thing, I mean,
Speaker 2: it's indescribable what it means, not only what it will
Speaker 2: mean for the kids. And the staff of the school
Speaker 2: was working with him to kind of share their thoughts
Speaker 2: and vision and because once you build it, you've got
Speaker 2: to maintain it.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: But it's extraordinary. And what I love about what Steve
Speaker 2: and his team have done, starting with the first urban
Speaker 2: learning garden that they created in a basically an unused
Speaker 2: acre of land behind Rockdale Academy, not even a half
Speaker 2: a mile from the Zoo, they you know, you've not
Speaker 2: only created something that's extraordinary for education, you've created something
Speaker 2: for the neighborhood that is literally a jewel that's raising
Speaker 2: property values because of the beauty and the thoughtfulness behind
Speaker 2: it and the effort that the Zoo continues to put
Speaker 2: into it to maintain it.
Speaker 1: So, Steve, when they've decided on a location and they
Speaker 1: come to you and say, come look at the site
Speaker 1: first of all, before we get into the Tree School,
Speaker 1: which I really want to do. What's the process your
Speaker 1: process for looking at the site and imagining what is
Speaker 1: possible there.
Speaker 4: Well, you know, it's interesting, we didn't come to the site.
Speaker 4: The site came to us Obiliyah on the Wintin Hills
Speaker 4: Community Council. We actually met with him two years ago
Speaker 4: and he asked us for our opinion on something and
Speaker 4: he had a vision of what he wanted to do
Speaker 4: in the wind Hills community. And you know, that's what's
Speaker 4: hearted all of it. And so it's funny the people say,
Speaker 4: you know, how do you pick these It's like sometimes
Speaker 4: they pick us and and if they're ready, and if
Speaker 4: they're you know, if they're motivated, and you know that
Speaker 4: good things can happen. And so when we did this
Speaker 4: tree school at Winton Hills. You know, of course also
Speaker 4: in st public schools, they have a lot of grass,
Speaker 4: not a lot of trees. And especially in these urban communities,
Speaker 4: you know, planting trees with all the asthma and all
Speaker 4: the problems that people have with pollution and particulate matter,
Speaker 4: planting trees is one of the easiest things to do
Speaker 4: for the health and wellness of a community. And one
Speaker 4: of the things that you know, we wanted to do
Speaker 4: is do something unique, not just plant trees. We wanted
Speaker 4: to make one of those typical what we call unique
Speaker 4: botanical experiences, and so we selected what we call tree school.
Speaker 4: You know, sometimes you have outdoor classrooms with a you know,
Speaker 4: you know, a classroom type setting with trees around. We're like, well,
Speaker 4: you know, we'll do a tree school. So we did
Speaker 4: like twelve outdoor rooms for the kids.
Speaker 1: Which follow a path.
Speaker 4: Yeah, follow a path there's and it's interesting because that
Speaker 4: school yard connects the community from one side to the other.
Speaker 4: And you know, so you've got the community folks, you know,
Speaker 4: they're they're walking through this what was a full sun
Speaker 4: just all you had to do is all they do
Speaker 4: is mow it. No production, no productivity, no one visited.
Speaker 4: And now they've got immediate shade. They've got you know,
Speaker 4: Spring Grove Cemetery helped us with these tree stumps where
Speaker 4: the kids can sit and learn, and put in some
Speaker 4: nice boulders in there for seating.
Speaker 3: Uh.
Speaker 4: And you know, as you walk through the site, you
Speaker 4: run into the pawpar room or or the elm room,
Speaker 4: or run into the sugar maple room. So these rooms
Speaker 4: are the trees that are surrounding each room and that
Speaker 4: way the kids, you know K through six, they'll be
Speaker 4: able to they'll know what a sugar maple is, explains
Speaker 4: what the tree is signage. So it's educational. It's the
Speaker 4: Some of the teachers said, well, you know, I teach
Speaker 4: Pap Paul, and I teach you know, I teach about hickory.
Speaker 4: So we got some hickory's in. And so a lot
Speaker 4: of this is inspired by the teachers, the principal, the
Speaker 4: community leaders. It's not something that we do. It's the
Speaker 4: site dictates and the people dictate the interesting things that
Speaker 4: we can do. But this is truly a unique thing,
Speaker 4: and I think we've got some more ideas coming next year.
Speaker 1: Tantalizing. You know, it's such a cool thing when you
Speaker 1: go to these things and you know it's all built
Speaker 1: around this single day. Of course, a lot of preparation
Speaker 1: goes into it ahead of time, a lot of preparation,
Speaker 1: but it's all focused on this one day. And how
Speaker 1: many volunteers show.
Speaker 2: Up, well, typically, you know, around four to five hundred.
Speaker 2: This year there was another one hundred that came through
Speaker 2: a partnership with Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, which was one
Speaker 2: of the really unique wrinkles. To me, the I mean,
Speaker 2: all of it's great work. What's happening at the Community Center,
Speaker 2: which is going to be dedicated at ten am this
Speaker 2: morning on winn Sd Avenue. All the changes inside and
Speaker 2: out at Winton Hills Academy, the new public entry to
Speaker 2: their health center, the murals, the new playground outside the cafeteria,
Speaker 2: all the beautiful work that was done at the Witten
Speaker 2: Hills Recreation Center. But it's hard not to think of
Speaker 2: the Tree School and then the new basketball court down
Speaker 2: at Winton Terrace which was rebuilt and then a mural
Speaker 2: painted on it by local artists Brent Billingsley, which is extraordinary.
Speaker 2: And as we were getting closer to that service date
Speaker 2: on July twenty third, you could feel the energy and
Speaker 2: the community people were outside. I mean this basketball court.
Speaker 2: Steve and I were down there about a month and
Speaker 2: a half ago or so walking around with the Housing Authority,
Speaker 2: and you know, there was nothing on it. It was cracked,
Speaker 2: there were weeds, there was a mattress on it. I mean,
Speaker 2: they're just it wasn't in use. And now it's not
Speaker 2: only been you know, repaved and rebuilt, but it's got
Speaker 2: this mural and Brent, you know, brought in kids to
Speaker 2: help paint it from the neighborhood. He you know, incorporated
Speaker 2: a lot of win and terrace history. It's one of
Speaker 2: the oldest housing communities of its type in the country
Speaker 2: kind of you know, the pride in place is such
Speaker 2: an important theme of all this. So, you know, the
Speaker 2: housing authority and the tree gardener just two extraordinary layers
Speaker 2: of this project.
Speaker 1: Yeah, when we come back, I'd like to explore a
Speaker 1: little bit more about you know, what the trees, what
Speaker 1: Rockdale Garden, what it all has meant for the community.
Speaker 1: And you know, if you have any stories to share
Speaker 1: with you know, groups or people who were transformed by
Speaker 1: this work, I'd love to hear them. Uh, you are
Speaker 1: listening to Let's Garden with Scott Berlin. I'm here with
Speaker 1: John Butcher, Steve Foltz, and Charlie Frank from Cinceni Read's
Speaker 1: Community Fund. We'll be back to carry on this discussion
Speaker 1: in just a few minutes.
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Speaker 1: And welcome back here again with John Butcher from Madisonry
Speaker 1: Care and Landscape, Steve Folds from Cincinnati Zoo and Potanical Gardens,
Speaker 1: and Charlie Frank from the Red's Community Makeover or Red's
Speaker 1: Community Fund fund. There, Okay, there we go. During the break,
Speaker 1: Charlie brought this up. But Steve, you know, our team
Speaker 1: is really committed to this and put in some long
Speaker 1: hours and a lot of good work.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I tell you we've got the best horticulture team
Speaker 4: in the country, hands down. You know. Jerome Stanger, Dave Padour,
Speaker 4: he's one of our heroes in horticulture. He's he's so quiet,
Speaker 4: he does all our landscape and design. He's he's got
Speaker 4: the yeah and you know what I mean, Yeah, absolutely
Speaker 4: a lot of people. I mean he you know, six
Speaker 4: five and you know, but the mighty.
Speaker 1: But yeah, you wouldn't think that he's an artist, but
Speaker 1: he is mildest guy.
Speaker 4: But he can take rock work and trees and you
Speaker 4: know that needs to be moved over like six inches right,
Speaker 4: and he is dead on. But he is what makes
Speaker 4: makes our garden go with the zoo. I don't know
Speaker 4: what I'd do without him.
Speaker 1: And yeah, a whole bunch of our team is out
Speaker 1: there in the week before so and all of us
Speaker 1: are out there on the day of, which is always
Speaker 1: cool to see.
Speaker 2: Scott I got it. Also Gary Gilbert, Yes, you know
Speaker 2: he was he's worked with the Community Fund from you
Speaker 2: know before he's even with the Zoo.
Speaker 1: Oh I didn't know that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, when he was with HGC, he he helped us
Speaker 2: build the beautiful Miracle League Field all the Dunham Recreation
Speaker 2: Complex over on the west side. And Gary has become
Speaker 2: you know, a leader with this project along with Miranda
Speaker 2: Record and Dean Violetta, you know, the the group that
Speaker 2: represents the Zoo not only some of the most talented
Speaker 2: people I've ever had the privilege of working with, but
Speaker 2: absolutely some of the finest people.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's a privilege.
Speaker 2: I don't know who to give the credit to, you know,
Speaker 2: Thane and Dave and Mark. Mark Fisher obviously has been
Speaker 2: a big piece of this. Steve's one of the most
Speaker 2: humble people you'll ever meet. I mean yeah, I mean
Speaker 2: Gary tells me, Look, there's nobody that has his breadth
Speaker 2: of knowledge and skill, he said, not just regionally, we're
Speaker 2: talking this is one of the top horticulture people you'll
Speaker 2: you'll meet and also just one of the one of
Speaker 2: the best people.
Speaker 1: So you wanted to talk a little bit about the
Speaker 1: Bond Hill project, which was what two years ago, years.
Speaker 2: Ago yeah, that was twenty twenty four. Yeah, I mean
Speaker 2: you said before the break Scot you know some of
Speaker 2: the memories that we have of you know, impacting the
Speaker 2: community and kind of hearing that impact, seeing it, healing it.
Speaker 2: And you know the project that culminated in twenty twenty
Speaker 2: one in Avondale with the at behind Rockdale Academy with
Speaker 2: the first urban learning garden. You know, that was one
Speaker 2: of those moments just because that's a world class, beautiful
Speaker 2: site that has everything. I mean, the zoo hired a
Speaker 2: full time guy in Carlos to come and manage it.
Speaker 2: That speaks to their level of commitment well and what
Speaker 2: that entire community. They were just an awe of what
Speaker 2: had been built behind the school. But you know, twenty
Speaker 2: twenty four in bond Hill, you know, each one of
Speaker 2: these projects just has a little bit of magic to them.
Speaker 2: And Steve said, they they find us more than we
Speaker 2: find them. And the group that found us ahead of
Speaker 2: that project was the leadership at the Xavier Jesuit Academy
Speaker 2: over on California Avenue off Riding Road, and they were
Speaker 2: in the process and they were one of three Jesuit
Speaker 2: schools in the city there. You know, Xavier University in
Speaker 2: Saint Xavier High School being the others, and they had
Speaker 2: this vision they'll they'll be entering their third year. I
Speaker 2: just bumped into Kyle Chandler, their principal. They're going to
Speaker 2: be up to eighty kids this year in five different
Speaker 2: age groups. Being a part of that from the ground level.
Speaker 2: And then Principal Chandler brought Steve and Gary and some
Speaker 2: of the folks myself back during that first school year
Speaker 2: and they took us out to the learning garden and
Speaker 2: the kids were telling us how much time they spend
Speaker 2: out there, how much they've learned, how they you know,
Speaker 2: they they're all weeding out there and everything. I think
Speaker 2: that Steve had envisioned this being not just a source
Speaker 2: of beauty and inspiration, but one that is everyday educational.
Speaker 2: Was exceeding that goal, and you know, part of that project.
Speaker 2: What made bond Hill also so unique was right across
Speaker 2: the street from Zavior Jesuit is the Bondhill Academy, which
Speaker 2: is Cincinnati Public K through six, and then behind that
Speaker 2: building is the RC's Bondhill Community Center, and then the
Speaker 2: Church of the Resurrection, which shared the parking lot with
Speaker 2: the Jesuit school also ran a food shelf out of
Speaker 2: there every week. And then, oh, by the way, there's
Speaker 2: a park that had basically sort of been forgotten, and
Speaker 2: Steve helped bring that back to life. When we put
Speaker 2: a walking trail in. He said, you know, it needs
Speaker 2: real shade. And the zoo came in and this wasn't
Speaker 2: part of the original plan, but they put sixty trees
Speaker 2: around that walking path and before we were even a
Speaker 2: day or two away to the official ribbon cut, there
Speaker 2: were people out there enjoying the park, walking their dogs,
Speaker 2: thanking us. Yeah, a new ball field, there was a
Speaker 2: big piece of that. And then the day after usually
Speaker 2: there's not a day after because everyone's pretty drained because
Speaker 2: we typically try to schedule the hottest, humid, most humid
Speaker 2: day of the time.
Speaker 1: You're very successful. Well, we got very lucky this year.
Speaker 2: But you know, then we had Reds players Brent Suiter
Speaker 2: and Will Benson come out and work with Keipsince and
Speaker 2: Beautiful to bring the community garden back to life. And
Speaker 2: that thing needed some help, and Steve and Dave and
Speaker 2: Jerome and the team came out in the rain and
Speaker 2: they got that one done too. It wouldn't have gotten
Speaker 2: down the way it looks now without them, and that's
Speaker 2: just the type of partners they are. They just showed up.
Speaker 2: But I gotta tell you this too. I mean, the
Speaker 2: beautiful playground, the playground equipment service is installed this year
Speaker 2: at Winton Hills and it's phenomenal. It looks like a
Speaker 2: ride at King's Island. And these kids are going to
Speaker 2: lose their minds on August nineteenth when they're back in school.
Speaker 2: The day before this year, so just two weeks ago,
Speaker 2: Steve's walking through and we see that there's sort of
Speaker 2: a path there that didn't get filled in with anything,
Speaker 2: and Steve just decided we're putting shrubs in here. They're
Speaker 2: not going to have this thing sounds like incomplete, and
Speaker 2: I just can't say enough about you know, that just
Speaker 2: totally captures, you know, what this is about. It's like,
Speaker 2: let's get this right for the kids in the community.
Speaker 1: You Know. One thing I've always appreciated about these projects
Speaker 1: is so many, maybe all of them occur at a
Speaker 1: school and just exposing the kids, especially kids growing up
Speaker 1: in urban environments, just to the beauty of horticulture of gardens.
Speaker 1: You know, almost every horticulturist I know when you ask
Speaker 1: them how they became a horticulturist. That usually they're saying, Oh,
Speaker 1: as a kid, my grandma had a garden, or my
Speaker 1: family had a garden or some story like that. And
Speaker 1: these kids will all have a had a garden growing
Speaker 1: up through these projects, and I think that's I mean,
Speaker 1: there's no end in extrapolating how important that is.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think that's something we're landing on now
Speaker 4: and again that theme of an urban learning garden, I
Speaker 4: think is so important. And when we did Rockdale, I
Speaker 4: mean there's everything from a sensory garden to an amphitheater
Speaker 4: to a pollinator gardens. There's shrubs to have fruit, you know,
Speaker 4: all throughout there's apple trees, pear trees.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 4: And the whole idea wasn't to necessarily feed the community.
Speaker 4: It was to show kids, you know, where their food
Speaker 4: comes from. And they showed you and where the fruit
Speaker 4: came from. There was a honeyberry. I'd never seen a
Speaker 4: honeyberry fruit before, but a first grader took us out
Speaker 4: and started picking the honey berries and eating them. It's like, well, yeah,
Speaker 4: doesn't everybody pick honey berries? And yeah, I know a
Speaker 4: lot of horticultures. Don't even know what a honeyberry is
Speaker 4: yet this first grader already knows and it was excited
Speaker 4: to show you and super In fact, most of the
Speaker 4: tours we give during the school season, they're taken over
Speaker 4: by the kids because they're so excited. You know, they
Speaker 4: come up in the spring, they have asparagus. They're eating
Speaker 4: asparagus while we're trying to lead a tour and the
Speaker 4: people are like legine that a kid eating asparagus, Yeah,
Speaker 4: fresh from the ground, And they end up taking the Oh,
Speaker 4: you want to see the you know where the strawberries are,
Speaker 4: and you want to see this, and it's it's amazing
Speaker 4: right in the middle of Avondale. How talented these kids are.
Speaker 4: And it's just give them the opportunity in the space
Speaker 4: and they'll really thrive. And you never know, you know,
Speaker 4: maybe when they become you know, the president, the mayor,
Speaker 4: they'll look at schools and go, how come there's no
Speaker 4: school garden here, Come on, let's go and so we
Speaker 4: don't know the impact.
Speaker 1: That we're having and then they'll turn immediately to this
Speaker 1: is a reds community fund.
Speaker 4: But it's great and I just want to thank Charlie
Speaker 4: and the Reds for really making this possible and we
Speaker 4: get more the zoo, our team, we get more out
Speaker 4: of it spiritually, and it really just warms our heart
Speaker 4: to do these projects. And they've been very successful, and
Speaker 4: we thank you, Charlie.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, Steve.
Speaker 2: When we got to Avondale in twenty thirteen, I mean
Speaker 2: it was the horticulture team at the zoo that really
Speaker 2: finally brought this this thing to full color. And I,
Speaker 2: you know, and I live about two three minutes from
Speaker 2: Gabriel's place, so I get to drive by it all
Speaker 2: the time, and I remember just how stunned I was
Speaker 2: with the amount of time and effort and care that
Speaker 2: they put into it, and remember covering it the night before.
Speaker 2: And you know, because we P and G deserves so
Speaker 2: much credit for this, the logistical effort, the leadership, I mean,
Speaker 2: they're the ones that really started it, and we couldn't
Speaker 2: do it without them. But it is the zoo that
Speaker 2: that brings it to life. And Dave Jenicke said it,
Speaker 2: and I heard Dave and Jerome say it as well,
Speaker 2: and it just keeps, you know, it keeps bouncing around
Speaker 2: my brain that you know, the kids that are back
Speaker 2: at Winton Hills Academy here in a week and a half,
Speaker 2: they're going to grow up with these trees. You know,
Speaker 2: they're going to grow together. You know that that's you know,
Speaker 2: And that was like Brockdale Academy was just empty space
Speaker 2: to be mode occasionally and maintained. And now it's alive
Speaker 2: and it's and just the possibilities are undless.
Speaker 1: I remember the first day, the first volunteer day, if
Speaker 1: my memory is right, and I think it is, twelve
Speaker 1: thousand plants went in the ground that day and that
Speaker 1: was with a that was twenty one, right, So that
Speaker 1: was like a diminished volunteer group because COVID was still
Speaker 1: going on, you know, talk about transformation. Yeah, that was
Speaker 1: a flat piece of turf, not even good turf, just
Speaker 1: worn out, beat up turf and what eighty eight truckloads
Speaker 1: of soil and twelve thousand plants later. But it's doable,
Speaker 1: and people should, you know, look into if you have
Speaker 1: questions about how can we do something like this, you
Speaker 1: can reach out to Charlie and Steve. I'm sure of it.
Speaker 1: I don't think I'm putting you on the spot.
Speaker 4: And one of the things I'd like to just pass
Speaker 4: along is. You know, everyone's got a backyard, front yard,
Speaker 4: and just being able to bring life and more ecology
Speaker 4: into your yard. It really is, you know, heartwarming to
Speaker 4: see the butterflies come in, to see the birds come in.
Speaker 4: That's something you can't get with just a lawn. And
Speaker 4: so we'd like to challenge everybody to plan it for pollinators,
Speaker 4: put some good trees in and and really, you know
Speaker 4: what these gardens have done for the kids at the
Speaker 4: school and the community. You know, let's think about doing
Speaker 4: it in near your own backyard.
Speaker 1: Yeah, nothing says you can't add some trees to your
Speaker 1: front yard and contribute to the community yourself. And that's
Speaker 1: what it's all about, getting more people planning more plants. Charlie,
Speaker 1: it has been such a thrill to have you here.
Speaker 1: I'm so glad you could come and tell us about
Speaker 1: the good work you're doing. Can you tell us where
Speaker 1: the project will be next year?
Speaker 2: I cannot, you know, We've we've got to couple of neighborhoods.
Speaker 2: Usually there are a.
Speaker 1: Few, I mean.
Speaker 2: Steve mentioned that he and the team from the zoo
Speaker 2: had met with Obelaye, the Went Hills Community Council president,
Speaker 2: two years in advance. I mean, we visited Lincoln Heights
Speaker 2: for the first time almost a decade before we wound
Speaker 2: up there working that project in twenty twenty two. Same
Speaker 2: with Walnut Hills. We were just there last year and
Speaker 2: oh my goodness, what the zoo built behind the Odell
Speaker 2: Owens Center for Learning is something like you'd see at
Speaker 2: the Biltmore Estate. It's so beautiful, the butterflies coming back
Speaker 2: to something that had just been asked fhalt. So yeah,
Speaker 2: some of them take a while to percolate. Scott, we've
Speaker 2: got two or three and hopefully within the next few
Speaker 2: months we'll be able to I'm.
Speaker 1: Already sure forward to meet next year's project. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much for being here.
Speaker 2: My pleasure. Thank you.
Speaker 1: When we come back, we'll talk to Gary Sullivan. Let's
Speaker 1: go with Scott Berlin back in a few.
Speaker 3: Well.
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Speaker 1: Hey, welcome back. You're listening to That's Garden with Scott Berline.
Speaker 1: I'm or we're wrapping it up. We enjoyed Charlie Frank
Speaker 1: very much, and I'm here still with John Butcher from
Speaker 1: Madison Treecare and Landscape. Thrown off. I was throwing off
Speaker 1: by the email difference that we talked about earlier and
Speaker 1: you you guys are celebrating a big anniversary this year,
Speaker 1: eighty years this year, eighty years in business, and it
Speaker 1: was how many generations my grandfather started nineteen forty six.
Speaker 1: That's very, very cool.
Speaker 4: And Steve and I will say that we use Madison
Speaker 4: because they were one of the finest companies in the
Speaker 4: city and they've also contributed to the community fund. So
Speaker 4: thank you.
Speaker 1: Thanks for having us. Oh absolutely, and along with enjoying
Speaker 1: people with us, Gary Sullivan joins us. Now, Gary, how
Speaker 1: are you?
Speaker 3: I'm doing fine? Good morning everybody. Hey Gary, Yes, sir.
Speaker 1: What do you got today on your show?
Speaker 3: I don't know anything in the rain?
Speaker 1: Yeah, of course it will.
Speaker 3: It's all directly responsible for this, Yeah, directly responsible. We
Speaker 3: just talk about droughts. Now we talk about floods. What's
Speaker 3: going on?
Speaker 1: It's living in the modern world.
Speaker 3: Oh my goodness, gracious. Yeah, we're going to talk about heat, humidity, ring,
Speaker 3: gutters and some pumps.
Speaker 1: How's that? It sounds like everything you need to solve
Speaker 1: too much water?
Speaker 3: Well, you know what it's all about water control. We
Speaker 3: preach it all the time. And man, I'll tell you what.
Speaker 3: There's a lot of water control needed right now from
Speaker 3: undersized gutters. We've been talking about that, how these deluges
Speaker 3: are really overrunning the guttering systems on many houses, especially
Speaker 3: when there's a couple of roofs kind of funneling into
Speaker 3: one place and it is a funnel, and then you
Speaker 3: get a hard stream coming down the roof and over
Speaker 3: the gutters, and then you get erosion and some basement leaks.
Speaker 3: And I guess as a landscaper, you can always use
Speaker 3: just a big pile of rocks at the bottom, right.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't do rocks. That doesn't you know, the rain
Speaker 1: just runs right through them. You can put a big
Speaker 1: pile of soil up against your foundation.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was talking about just rocks just to divert
Speaker 3: splash the water.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that's a classic. That's a classic dry stream.
Speaker 1: It's so called dry stream.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I'll tell you what it really is. I've
Speaker 3: seen a lot of issues with gutters this year, more
Speaker 3: so than any other time. And I've been telling people,
Speaker 3: if you don't think you have a problem, because there's
Speaker 3: not many people that want to rush out in the
Speaker 3: middle of a thunderstorm, just see if their gutters are overflowing.
Speaker 3: But so many of our homes have landscaping beds and mulch,
Speaker 3: and you know, I always see your homes talking to
Speaker 3: you all the time. All you got to do is
Speaker 3: go out after the rain. You'll see immediately whether you
Speaker 3: have an overflow problem or not, because it'll just wash
Speaker 3: out the mulch or wash out soil, and you'll see
Speaker 3: where the problem is. And you got to really get
Speaker 3: that correct. And there's many ways to do that, and
Speaker 3: we'll talk about a bunch of those.
Speaker 1: I gotta tell you, Gary, I ran out in the
Speaker 1: rain yesterday to see how my gutters were doing.
Speaker 3: You're the guy.
Speaker 1: I'm that guy, the guy I didn't even put on
Speaker 1: a rain coat or an umbrella. It wouldn't have mattered.
Speaker 1: It was gonna get soaked one way or the other.
Speaker 3: Well, I used to preach that, and then somebody, I think,
Speaker 3: kind of kind of wrapped me upside the head and say,
Speaker 3: why would I go out in the middle of a
Speaker 3: downpourt And well then.
Speaker 1: Don't Well, yeah, in the dumb dumb thing was the
Speaker 1: lightning that was coming straight up and down?
Speaker 3: Why we did hard bolts. I was outside and it
Speaker 3: just came inside. When first thunderstorm blew through.
Speaker 1: A couple of those thunderbolts caused me to say words
Speaker 1: I'm not very proud of.
Speaker 3: They were serious ones.
Speaker 1: I yeah them. Yes, there's a tower right across the
Speaker 1: street from me gets hit a lot. Yeah, is that right? Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 3: It's been an interesting summer though, and I'm sure you
Speaker 3: say the same in the horticultural business. But you know,
Speaker 3: it's it seems like we're talking about things that we
Speaker 3: never talk about in the summertime, and that is the
Speaker 3: whole rain issue and controlling water. Usually were repairing concrete
Speaker 3: and ceiling decks, and you know, those jobs have been
Speaker 3: few and you know, kind of picking your your day.
Speaker 3: You're one day where it's not gonna rain or you know,
Speaker 3: so we are working on different things this year, that's
Speaker 3: for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I just put a six by six cement or
Speaker 1: post up for a gate with a lot of cement
Speaker 1: because I want that post to stay put one day
Speaker 1: before all that rain yesterday, and I'm just thinking, what's
Speaker 1: this doing to the concrete. It doesn't have to look pretty,
Speaker 1: and it doesn't, so I'm hoping it's still good.
Speaker 3: Yep. I'll tell you what. You know, we do things
Speaker 3: one time and then the next time when it doesn't
Speaker 3: hold up, we come back and say that is never
Speaker 3: going to fail again.
Speaker 1: That's right. Well, thanks Gary, Wi'll be listening to your.
Speaker 3: Show all right, very good up to good work.
Speaker 1: I will try. Thanks to John Butcher from Madison Tree
Speaker 1: Care Landscape came this time, Steve Foltz from the Cincinna
Speaker 1: Potanical Garden Zoo, and Charlie Frank from the Reds Community Fun.
Speaker 1: I want to thank all the callers and listeners today
Speaker 1: and Danny Gleeson, our producer. He's a magician back there.
Speaker 1: Podcasts are available wherever podcasts are available. We'll be back
Speaker 1: next week with good guests, good topics, a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: Join us. Let's guard what Scott burline