I don’t know about you but this weather is getting to me – too dark and gloomy. The other morning as I drove into work the full moon was huge and lines of gunmetal gray clouds drifted over in wisps like out of a horror movie.
I knew it was going be another “one of those days” where I wouldn’t see the sunshine. I find having things to look forward to makes the bad weather easier to endure, so mark your calendars for the 2017 Woodland, Water and Wildlife Conference on March 1.
The program is sponsored by The Ohio State University Extension (OSUE) College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences. Early bird registration is $60 and includes continental breakfast, lunch, and resource book.
Continuing education credits for Society of American Foresters and International Society Arboriculture certification are pending along with pesticide recertification credits.
Topics will be of interest to outdoor enthusiasts as well as to natural resource professionals and land managers. Delaware Soil & Water Conservation District’s (SWCD) Milt Link is one the speakers. The topics and speakers are as follows:
• Urban Pond Fisheries: Management is Trickier than it Looks by Eugene Braig, OSUE
• Human-Wildlife Conflict: Perception vs. Reality by Jon Cepek, Cleveland Metroparks
• The Tale of Two Wilts: Ailanthus and Oak by Joanne Rebbeck, US Forest Service and Amy Stone, OSUE
• Competition Matters: Invasive Species Management in Pollinator Plantings by Rick Gardner, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
• The Importance of Diversity Across the Forested Landscape by Amy Stone, OSU Extension
• Web Applications for Geospatial Data Sharing: A Case Study Using Storymaps and Databasin by H. Alexis Londo, OSUE
• Stormwater: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly by Milt Link, Delaware SWCD
• Spiders: The Thread that Holds Ecosystems Together by Sarah Rose, OSU School of Environmental and Natural Resources (SENR)
• Using Floating Islands and Other Bioreactors for Improving Water Quality in Streams and Stormwater Ponds by David Reutter and Kurt Keljo, Franklin SWCD
• Designing a Stream Restoration for Results: Big Darby Creek Headwaters by Anthony Sasson, The Nature Conservancy
• Pollinators Need Forests, Too! by Kathy Smith and Marne Titchenell, OSUE
Migratory Birds of Lake Erie Region of Ohio: Where Do They Go and How Do They Get There? by Chris Tonra, OSU SENR
• Soil Basics by Joe Boggs, OSUE
• Integrating Forest Succession into Logic Models to Plan for Long Term Woodland Restoration by G. Matt Davies and Joe Bonnell, OSU SENR
• What the HACCP? Planning to Prevent the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species by Sarah Orlando and Tony Gabriel, Ohio Sea Grant College Program
Three conference sessions will run concurrently so participants will choose five workshops to attend during the conference.
The event will be held at the Mid Ohio Conference Center on West Fourth Street in Mansfield. Registration information can be found at www.woodlandstewards.osu.edu under Upcoming Workshops. The deadline for the early bird discount is Feb. 14, 2017.
Other great late winter and early spring educational opportunities that are coming up include the 2017 Agronomy Workshop & Expo on Feb. 23, and the Delaware SWCD annual tree seedling sale.
I will share those details with you in our next columns and in the meantime, visit our website at www.delawareswcd.org. Stretch your mind and your muscles by getting out of the house to avoid the winter blues.
