COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s Environmental Professionals Network (EPN) is holding its next monthly breakfast program March 7 in Columbus, and as the film title goes, a river runs through it.
Called “We All Need Healthy Rivers,” the event is a joint meeting with the Water Management Association of Ohio.
In all, Ohio has more than 29,000 miles of rivers, and organizers say their health is key to the health of the state’s citizens and environment.
The Ohio River, for example, supplies drinking water to more than 5 million people in six states including Ohio, the Ohio River Foundation says. But reports based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data have said the Ohio has more industrial pollution than any other river in the nation....
WOOSTER, Ohio — Biobased fuels and products — those made from crops and waste from farms — are the focus of an upcoming workshop in Wooster.
Advanced Biobased Systems: Growing an Industry is March 16 at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), 1680 Madison Ave.
It’s for anyone involved with or interested in the biobased industry, said organizer Ajay Shah, an assistant professor at OARDC and the head of its Biobased Systems Analysis Lab, the sponsor of the event.
Expected to attend are farmers, scientists, processors, manufacturers, commodity representatives, and people in the ethanol, biodiesel and transportation industries, Shah said.
“The potential of agricultural biomass as a renewable feedstock for fuels and chemicals continues...
MANSFIELD, Ohio — Why we need spiders, how a disease that kills trees could actually help forests, and what’s really going on when people and wildlife butt heads are just a few of the topics at the 2017 Ohio Woodland, Water and Wildlife Conference.
The event is an annual educational program for natural resource professionals and land managers. It’s from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 1 at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center, 890 W. Fourth St. in Mansfield in north-central Ohio. Last year’s attendance was nearly 200.
Experts from conservation agencies and The Ohio State University will present 15 sessions in three tracks: woodlands, water and wildlife.
Tree wilts, invasives and conflicts with wildlife
Among the sessions:
“A Tale of Two Wilts: Ailanthus and...
BUCYRUS, Ohio — A workshop on Feb. 6 in Bucyrus will show you how money can grow on your trees. And also under and around them.
Called “Woodland Opportunities,” it’s from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in Ohio State University Extension’s Crawford County office, 112 E. Mansfield St.
“‘What should I do with my woods?’ It’s a question we get a lot,” said Kathy Smith, coordinator of OSU Extension’s Ohio Woodland Stewards Program, which is sponsoring the event and providing the instructors.
“We’ll cover some of the income opportunities that landowners should explore when assessing the future of their woodland acreage,” she said.
Among those opportunities are timber production, leasing, and products like...
CINCINNATI, Ohio — Winter or not, things will be green in Cincinnati next week.
The city’s Sharonville Convention Center, 11355 Chester Road, is hosting the Tri-State Green Industry Conference on Feb. 2. The event is for people whose work involves plants, including landscapers, lawn and tree care workers, greenhouse managers, and nursery growers. It goes from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Organizers are expecting about 500 participants, mainly from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Early bird registration for the conference is $80, includes lunch and refreshments, and is due by this Thursday (Jan. 26). Registration after Thursday, including at the door, is $90 and doesn’t guarantee lunch or refreshments. Student registration is $45.
The conference is a joint effort by six organizations...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — February’s Environmental Professionals Network breakfast program will explore Ohio’s forests — and the natural role one of them played in renovating The Ohio State University’s main library.
The event, which is called “Ohio’s Forests: Celebrating a Rich History; Planning for Emerging Threats,” is from 7:15 to 11 a.m. Feb. 14 in Ohio State’s Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive, Columbus.
John Dorka, master logger coordinator/government relations with the Ohio Forestry Association, and Mark Ervin, a member of the Ohio Society of American Foresters, will present “Celebrating Ohio’s Forests” during the event. Then they’ll preview the “Building Ohio State...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ten experts from The Ohio State University will be among the 100-plus presenters at this year’s annual conference of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association.
Organizers call the event, which is Feb. 9-11 in Dayton, the largest sustainable agriculture conference in Ohio.
It will have, for example, nearly 80 hour-and-a-half educational workshops, two keynote speakers, a three-day trade show, four full-day intensive preconference workshops, a banquet featuring Ohio-grown foods and “The Contrary Farmer’s Social” honoring the late Ohio farmer-writer Gene Logsdon.
Now in its 38th year, this is the first time the conference is being held in Dayton.
CFAES well represented
The Buckeye presenters — most of them from the College of...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State University’s 2017 Environmental Film Series kicks off Jan. 24 with a look at legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold, author of the classic A Sand County Almanac.
Called “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time,” the film starts at 7 p.m. in Room 130 in Ohio State’s Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry (CBEC) building, 151 W. Woodruff Ave. in Columbus. Admission is free and open to the public. Free pizza and beverages will be served at 6:45 p.m. Advance registration isn’t needed.
The Emmy Award-winning “Green Fire,” according to its website, “explores Leopold’s extraordinary career and his enduring influence — tracing how he shaped the modern conservation...
WOOSTER, Ohio — Learn how to graft new plants for your garden, including new fruit trees for the coming spring, in workshops on Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 in Secrest Arboretum.
Instructor Paul Snyder, who’s a program assistant with the arboretum, said participants will get hands-on practice with side veneer grafting, will also learn the basics of cleft and whip-and-tongue grafting, and can take home the plants they create.
The workshops are the same on both days.
“The side veneer graft is nearly universal, so that’s why I focus on it,” Snyder said. “It’s also the graft I use the most. You can use it on fruit trees, which is what most people have been looking for when they’ve taken these workshops in the past.”
Start new fruit trees, more...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — January’s Environmental Professionals Network breakfast program has a big title for a big topic — in fact, for four very closely related topics.
It’s called “Global Warming. You and Me. Energy Audits. Money in Your Pocket. Cleaner Air. More Comfortable Home. Help Is Available. Don’t Procrastinate.”
It’s from 7:15 to 9:30 a.m. Jan. 11 in The Ohio State University’s Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive in Columbus.
And it features talks by four Ohio experts — led by renowned climatologist Lonnie Thompson, Distinguished University Professor in Ohio State’s School of Earth Sciences and senior research scientist with the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center —...
WOOSTER, Ohio — In the coming new year, plant lovers have three official ways to grow with northeast Ohio’s Secrest Arboretum.
One, they can apply for the facility’s 2017 Master Gardening Volunteer course, which costs $150 and runs weekly on Wednesdays from March 15 through May 17. Applications may be downloaded at u.osu.edu/secrestmg/apply/. The deadline to apply is Jan. 27 or until the course has 40 people.
Two, “If you like to garden but don’t want to go through the course at this time, then becoming a Secrest volunteer might be right for you,” said Paul Snyder, who’s a program assistant with the arboretum. Details and a link to apply to volunteer are at go.osu.edu/SecrestVolunteers.
Three, they can join the Friends of Secrest Arboretum...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the holiday song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” someone’s true love gives them … quite a few birds.
Given that the song has European roots — it apparently came from France and was published first in England — does it hold up ornithologically in Ohio?
Do the song’s birds live in the Buckeye State?
Here are answers from experts in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University and from sources including The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Ohio, which was published earlier this year.
1st day: Partridge (with or without pear tree)
ANSWER: Technically, no. But also, not any more.
The ruffed grouse, which is pictured below, although in a willow tree, lives in Ohio....
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Reindeer have feet like snowshoes, antlers like a rocking chair, and connections in story and song to Santa Claus.
But they don’t live wild in Ohio.
Neither do caribou, which belong to the same species (see No. 2 below).
And Marne Titchenell — who’s a wildlife program specialist with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University — hasn’t even seen them in Alaska.
“I went there a couple of years ago,” she said. “I thought I had a good chance, considering there are more caribou there than people. But no dice.
“I’ve had to rely on the ones I’ve seen at the Columbus Zoo.”
A relative lives in Ohio
Titchenell has a sleighful of...
WOOSTER, Ohio—Baby, it’s too cold outside in winter in Ohio to grow the traditional Christmas holly—English holly, or Ilex aquifolium.
But Paul Snyder of Wooster’s Secrest Arboretum lists seven alternative hollies that can take it when Jack Frost nips at their noses.
They thrive in the state’s climate, including its bleak midwinters. They look good in the landscape all year round. And you can cut stems from at least three of them to decorate your home for the holidays.
How would they look in your garden?
You can see all seven in the 110-acre arboretum, where Snyder works as the program coordinator. Specimens grow in the facility’s theme gardens, around its Discovery Pavilion, and at the locations listed below.
Get oriented using...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The 50th annual Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Conference and Show, which includes the 89th Ohio State University Green Industry Short Course, is Dec. 5-8 in Columbus.
Co-planner Amy Stone, director and educator in Ohio State University Extension’s Lucas County office, said the two events have provided nearly 140 years of educational training to the green industry. Combined, she said, “It’s like getting two conferences for the price of one.”
The event is for anyone connected to the green industry, Stone said. “If you work with plants from turf to trees, you’ll want to attend,” she said.
For professionals working with turf, trees and more
Included in the target audience are people involved with landscape design; landscape,...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The safety of Ohio’s drinking water will be in the spotlight during the December breakfast program by the Environmental Professionals Network.
Mike Baker, chief of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Division of Drinking and Ground Waters, will present “Lead in Drinking Water: Ohio Leads the Way. What More Is Needed?” as part of the program, which goes from 7:15 to 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 2 at The Ohio State University in Columbus.
The network is a service of Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources, part of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
Baker, who’s an alumnus of the school, will talk about lead in water pipes, its prevalence in Ohio — such as the case in Sebring in...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An upcoming event at The Ohio State University will feature the ambitious new National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), whose contractor, the Battelle Memorial Institute, is based in Columbus.
Gene Kelly, visiting head scientist at NEON’s Boulder, Colorado, headquarters, will present “The National Ecological Observatory Network: Using Ecological Science to Better Understand Our World” to headline the Nov. 10 breakfast program by the Ohio State-based Environmental Professionals Network (EPN).
The NEON project, when complete, will gather vast amounts of data, or “big data,” on how America’s biodiversity and natural resources are changing because of climate change, land-use change and invasive species. It’s funded by $...
WOOSTER, Ohio — The Organic Food and Farming Education and Research program, part of The Ohio State University, will hold a public listening and planning session on Nov. 9 in Wooster. Organic farmers and others are invited to attend.
The purpose of the event is to help plan the program’s future, said Doug Doohan, interim director of the program, which is called OFFER for short. He’s a professor in Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
There will be updates on current research, time for questions and answers, and a discussion to hear participants’ ideas on where the program should be going. Leah Miller, former director of the Fresno, Ohio-based Small Farm Institute, will facilitate the discussion.
Help chart the program...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Nov. 15 event at The Ohio State University aims to help Ohio’s cities, towns and suburbs limit conflicts between people and wildlife, from deer to geese to coyotes.
Organizers say the 2016 annual conference of the Ohio Community Wildlife Cooperative is for local government officials, community leaders, town planners and others. Its theme is “Living with Wildlife and Resolving Conflicts in Ohio.”
Urban wildlife conflicts are increasing, and so are the challenges for local governments in managing them, said co-organizer Marne Titchenell, wildlife program specialist with Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). The headline of a recent story by the Associated Press, for instance, said U.S. cities are...
MANSFIELD, Ohio — The Ohio Woodland Stewards Program will hold an Improving Your Woodland workshop on Oct. 14 on the Mansfield campus of The Ohio State University.
The workshop will help participants determine goals and objectives for their woods, such as producing timber and providing wildlife habitat, and the best ways to go about achieving them.
“We’ll spend the morning inside exploring these issues and the afternoon outside putting the ideas to work,” said Kathy Smith, coordinator of the stewards program and one of the workshop’s instructors. She’s forestry program director in Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources, which runs the stewards program.
The school is in the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and...
CALDWELL, Ohio — The Eastern Agricultural Research Station in Noble County will celebrate its past, present and future this Sunday.
The station, which is part of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, is holding a rededication ceremony and field day in honor of its 50th anniversary. Hours are 2 to 5 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
The station is at 16870 Bond Ridge Road (Township Road 126) near Caldwell, about 2 miles east of Belle Valley and about 100 miles east of Columbus.
The rededication program starts at 2 p.m. Afterward, wagons will take attendees on tours of the station’s grounds and facilities.
During the tours, experts from OARDC and Ohio State University Extension will talk about the station’s research on grazing and forage...
WOOSTER, Ohio — Secrest Arboretum is holding its annual Autumn Discovery Day fundraising plant sale from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday. Featured will be more than 100 different types of trees and shrubs, many of them unusual or hard to find commercially. Admission is free and open to the public.
There’s also a presale for members of the Friends of Secrest Arboretum from 3 to 4 p.m. this Friday.
The arboretum is at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave. in Wooster, about 60 miles south of Cleveland.
The center is part of The Ohio State University and its College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
The event is the arboretum’s second-biggest fundraiser of the year, said Paul Snyder, who works there as a program assistant...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two special events at The Ohio State University will look at two big personalities — a famous grizzly bear and media mogul turned environmentalist Ted Turner, an Ohio native — and the mark they’re making on the American West.
The Ohio State-based Environmental Professionals Network, a service of the School of Environment and Natural Resources, is hosting both events. The school is in the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
On Oct. 24 at 7 p.m., photographer Thomas Mangelsen and writer Todd Wilkinson will present “An Evening with Grizzly Bear 399,” a photo-rich talk based on their book Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek.
The book’s star is Grizzly 399, a female grizzly bear living in...
WOOSTER, Ohio — Science met art Sept. 16 when Wooster’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center dedicated a new sculpture and water feature at its renovated campus entrance.
The event took place six years to the day after a tornado entered the campus at nearly the very same spot, causing millions of dollars in damage to greenhouses, buildings and trees but fortunately no injuries.
Called “The Fruit of Inquiry,” the sculpture was done by Gallipolis artist Kevin Lyles, who’s a professor of sculpture at the University of Rio Grande in southeast Ohio.
It features small fountains, 15 tons of glacial stone symbolizing Ohio’s soil and fields, large open cubes made from gleaming metal rods evoking streams and flowing water, and some 70 bronze...
LONDON, Ohio — Two talks at the Sept. 20-22 Farm Science Review will dive into aquaponics.
“There’s growing interest in aquaponics in the Midwest,” said Matthew Smith, an aquaculture specialist with The Ohio State University who will give the talks. “People like the idea of the marriage between fish and plants.”
The Review is an annual agricultural trade show in London, about 25 miles west of Columbus. Its sponsor is Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
Smith is with the college’s outreach arm, Ohio State University Extension.
Aquaponics merges aquaculture with hydroponics and wastewater management, he said. It combines tilapia and lettuce, for example, or koi and basil, or catfish and strawberries...
