Thanks to a generous donation by Yanfeng through their iCare program, Paw Paw Park finally has its namesake tree. Pawpaws are tropical-looking understory trees that grow naturally along rivers in Southwest Michigan. Although there were only a couple of recently planted pawpaws at the park, prior to European settlement, there were likely more. Therefore, OCPR staff were grateful when Yanfeng (YF) offered to purchase and plant 65 pawpaw plants to establish Paw Paw Park as a destination to learn about this unique species. Yanfeng’s iCare program supports the community through project-based grants that are nominated by Yanfeng employees.

“Even though this is our first year doing an iCare project with the Ottawa County Parks, our team has been volunteering annually for the last eight years or so. Most of our work has been at Riley Trails through the Adopt-a-Park program. We were excited to work at Paw Paw Park and give back.”
-Darby Goodemoot

Darby Goodemoot is a Senior Manager of Costing from Yanfeng who submitted the project to the company’s grant program. Thank you!

REMINDER:

Although pawpaws are edible, please refrain from picking the fruit within Ottawa County Parks. The seeds within the pawpaws are needed to continue the spread of this species within our parks!