There is a wooded lot in Strongsville, Ohio that most people drive past without a second look.
It sits quietly off the road, mostly hidden by the treeline — half an acre of Sugar Maples, a creek, a steep hill, a small wetland pond where yellow water lilies bloom each summer without anyone asking them to. For a long time, the lot was vacant in the way that vacant land usually is in a suburb: unused, gradually losing ground to invasive vines and encroaching brush, waiting for something to happen to it.
The Wesley Stump Family Foundation decided something would.
What We Believe
We believe that land has value that doesn't show up on a balance sheet. That a mature maple tree providing shade, oxygen, and a home for birds is doing something real — something worth protecting. That a creek running clean through a neighborhood wetland is a public good, whether or not anyone builds a sign next to it.
We also believe that communities are healthier when people have places to slow down, walk quietly, and reconnect with something older than the neighborhood around them.
That's what Wesley Woods is meant to be. Not a park with a parking lot. Not a development project. Just a piece of Ohio woodland that is being genuinely cared for — and eventually, shared.
What 2026 Looks Like
This year, the Foundation is focused on the following priorities at Wesley Woods in Strongsville:
Water & Wetland — Our Top Priority The yellow water lilies on the wetland pond are thriving, and we intend to keep it that way. Summer 2026 is dedicated to expanding lily coverage, clearing the pond margins, and stewarding the full creek corridor from the upper property down through the garden area. Healthy water is the foundation of everything else on this land.
Orchard Planting Wild green crab apple trees discovered near the creek confirmed what we suspected: the lower property is good apple country. This fall, we're planting a diverse selection of eating apple varieties alongside them — a productive, wildlife-supporting grove that will feed birds, pollinators, and eventually, people.
Trail Completion The hand-built trail system on the 25-foot wooded slope is nearly complete. Log retaining walls, twine handrails, a timber footbridge, and a maple bench are already in place. The final phase this season focuses on surface stabilization and erosion control — making sure this infrastructure lasts.
Invasive Species Control The red poison vine removal effort protecting our Sugar Maples continues. Japanese barberry, multiflora rose, and other invasive species are being systematically identified and cleared. This work is slow, seasonal, and never fully finished — which is exactly why it matters.
Education and Safety The Foundation is developing interpretive resources for the property: plant identification guides, wildlife spotting notes, and a planned e-mountain bike safety corridor that will make the land a place for learning as well as walking.
Why We Do This
The honest answer is simple: because the land is worth it.
Because Sugar Maples in Ohio were here before the suburbs and will outlast them if we let them. Because a wetland pond full of yellow lilies is a genuinely beautiful thing and beauty is worth protecting. Because a community that has access to woodland — even a small piece of it — is richer for it in ways that are hard to quantify and easy to feel.
The Wesley Stump Family Foundation is not a large organization. We don't move fast. We show up on weekends, we pull vines, we build trails out of fallen timber, and we document what we find. We work with the land's own materials and try not to impose more than necessary.
That's the whole philosophy, really. Take care of something worth taking care of. Do it persistently, without fanfare. Let the results accumulate quietly, the way a forest does.
We'll see you on the trail.
The Wesley Stump Family Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to ecological restoration, land stewardship, and community access to natural spaces in Northeast Ohio.