Park District unveils Cemex Reserve

FAIRBORN - One hundred sixty four acres of land formerly used to mine cement will be open to the public today as a wetland reserve.

The Cemex Reserve is found on Sanctuary Drive, off of Garland Avenue, in Fairborn. Once a place where Cemex quarried the natural materials needed for cement, the land will be presented to the public as a park, where they can go to observe nature.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, Park District Commissioner Tony Sculimbrene said the transformation of the reserve has been an investment in the future of Greene County.

"This is a place where we can bring our sons and daughters and, more importantly, our grandsons and granddaughters to enjoy in the future," Sculimbrene said. "This reserve is really all about making Greene County greener for the future."

Cemex donated the land for the reserve to the park district in 2000, once it was finished mining the land for materials needed in cement production. Plant Manager Bud McCormick said it is nice to be able to give it back to the community in this way.

"This is part of what we were, and now it is an incredible resource for the community," McCormick said. "The unveiling of this reserve today says a lot about what the company's about, and that is being a neighbor and a part of the community."

Now that the reserve is open to the public, people can see the 120 bird species, including Baltimore Orioles and Green Herons, and plants, including butterfly weed and money flower in the park. The reserve also will give visitors a chance to see the land the way it looked before the cement quarry.

"What we now see here is that the area has been restored to what it once was," Sculimbrene said. "And that is something that will benefit the entire community."

By Mary Beth Lehman

Fairborn Daily Herald Staff Writer

Source: Fairborn Daily Herald