The trees were dedicated during a ceremony Friday afternoon at Great Seal State Park in Chillicothe.
The trees are being planted by COVID survivors, families of Ohioans killed during the pandemic, health care workers, first responders, educators, students, representatives from the Ohio National Guard, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and Ohio Emergency Management Agency and other essential workers.
DeWine said the grove will be a memorial for loved ones lost to the virus and to all the sacrifices everyone made during the pandemic.
“We honor so many different people today,” he said. “We have each group really represented here.”
From grocery store employees and other essential workers to the first responders and health care workers, the governor called out the heroic work, as well as strength and perseverance Ohioans have shown for the last year.
The site at Great Seal State Park was selected due to the region’s importance in Ohio history.
“This is sort of where it all began. This part of Ohio where the Shawnee, our Native Americans, came together with the settlers,” DeWine said. “To have it here, a place of remembrance, seemed to be appropriate.”
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