Website Links

These are a few of my favorite sites, because of their information, link pages, and or program offerings. Please email me at naturalist@bullsrun.org if you know of additional natural history sites you would like us to include. We will check the site and decide!

• OSU Bulletin #865 Native Plants
• Highlands Nature Sanctuary
• Northside Greenspace link page to many interesting and informational sites
• Birding site plus many links
• WildOnes native plants and landscapes
• Butler County Parks
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Studying Birds

Area Events

• Flora-Quest, May 1 &2: Shawnee State Park at its finest. See beautiful spring ephemerals common and rare alike. Detailed information at this website:
  www.flora-quest.com
  
  
• Butler County Home Hort Series – See brochure here:
  http://butler.osu.edu/topics/horticulture/2010-home-hort-series/MG-HomeHortBrochure2010_Final.pdf/view
  
  
• 13th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count [Friday-Monday 12-15 February]: This is a joint project of Cornell Lab of Ornithology & National Audubon Society. Birders across the continent (more than 90,000 last year) will pool their observations to contribute to this detailed snapshot of late-winter birds. Anyone can help, from novice bird watchers to experts. Participants count birds at the location of their choice for as little as 15 minutes or as long as they wish on one or more days of the event & report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org. You can count on your own or with a group.
  
  Locally, the Cincinnati chapter of the Audubon Society of Ohio will sponsor a count on the Mt. St. Joseph Motherhouse Grounds on Saturday 13 February @ 9 AM - noon. Come join them for all or part of the count. You can watch at the feeding station, or join in a short or long hike through the diverse woods and hillside. Western Wildlife Corridor will help lead hikes thru the woods; a great way for less experienced birders to learn. Free. More info call Kathy @ 513.941.6497 or by email at: whocooksforyou@gmail.com.
  
  
• Purdue University is hosting a Symposium on Ash in North America on March 9-11, 2010 in West Lafayette, Indiana. http://www.fnr.purdue.edu/ashsymposium/index.htm The website lists the agenda, directions, and lodging information. $140 for three days. If you have any questions, contact Jodie A. Ellis at (765) 494-0822.
  
  
• Greene County Master Gardeners and OSU extension are sponsoring the 5th Annual Think Spring in Greene Winter Seminar on February 27, 9 am – 3 pm Nazarene Church in Xenia . Cost for the one-day seminar is $35 in advance or $40 at the door. Lunch can also be ordered in advance for $6.00.
  
  This year’s focus is on Amazing Facts for the Home Gardener. Master Gardener topics include building healthy garden soil, growing native plants and a lush lawn, container gardening demonstrations, and vegetable structures and containers.
  
  Jim Teske, Centerville Landscaping, will teach you how to avoid the pitfalls of planting the wrong landscape trees and shrubs in your yard. Selecting the right plantings for the soil and growing conditions in the Miami Valley is key to a successful landscape.
  
  Doug Christen, Yellow Spring’s Smaller Footprint Farm will focus on chemical free growing of vegetables including the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), plus cover and trap crops. If you don’t have space or time for a vegetable garden but want to enjoy the healthy taste and benefits of fresh produce, learn more about this Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm and how you can become a CSA member and share in the bounty of local, seasonal foods.
  
  Keynote speaker Jim Jasinski combines humor and knowledge and is a favorite speaker of Master Gardener groups throughout the counties in Ohio . He has the unique ability to talk about the vast world of insects and disease in words that are understandable to even the least experienced gardener.
  
  In the fall and winter, Jim is involved with teaching Master Gardeners about basic entomology and pest management. He also serves in a leadership capacity with the Vegetable Crops team and as an Educational Advisor to the annual Fruit and Vegetable Congress meeting.
  
  In the urban sector, Jim has been working on a pest management kiosk for home owners to answer basic yard and garden questions.
  
  Mr. Jasinski is an Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University in the college of Food, Agriculture an Environmental Science. His recent focus has been working with state specialists, agents, and producers on a variety of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) vegetable related projects.
  
  Jim has been involved with developing IPM definitions for the major vegetable crops in Ohio, including sweet corn, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, and others. With the help of other state regulatory officials, state specialists, and growers, a Pest Management Strategic Plan for Peppers was recently completed.
  
  For more information about this seminar and other Greene County Master Gardener programs, please contact Barb Mills at (937) 372-9971 (mills35@ag.osu.edu) or project chair Carol Scriven (937) 431-8191 (cscriven@att.net).
  
  Registration brochures can be downloaded at http://greene.osu.edu/topics/master-gardener-volunteer-program/workshops
  
  
• Home Vegetable Gardening School at Valley Vineyards Friday, April 30th: http://warren.osu.edu/topics/horticulture/copy_of_2009-southwestern-ohio-fruit-vegetable-school
  
  
• Introduction to Permaculture, March 9th at Boone County Extension: Go to this site:
  http://ces.ca.uky.edu/boone/HorticultureUpcomingClasses
  This class is at the bottom of the list where you can click on the flyer for more information.
  
  
• Highlands Nature Sanctuary Wildflower Pilgrimage April 16-18:
  http://www.highlandssanctuary.org/Wildflower/Pilgrimage.htm
  
  
• Southern Ohio Wildflowers: In the Wild and in the Garden, May 1st:
  http://clermont.osu.edu/topics/horticulture/southern-ohio-wildflowers-in-the-wild-and-in-the-garden
  
  
• 16th Annual Southwest Ohio Perennial Flower School April 1st: (including Landscaping for Wildlife with Brian Jorg of the Cincinnati Zoo)
  http://clermont.osu.edu/topics/horticulture/southern-ohio-wildflowers-in-the-wild-and-in-the-garden
  
  
• Clermont County’s Spring Gardening Series, Feb.16, Mar.10, and May 12, including “Cooking and Preserving Herbs”, “Tricks of the Trade: From Pods to Plants”, and “Lasagna Gardening”
  http://clermont.osu.edu/search?SearchableText=spring+gardening+series
  
  
• The Ohio Invasive Plants Council Research Conference February 18th:
  http://www.oipc.info/Conferences/2010ResearchConference_reg.htm
  
  
• Ohio Botanical Symposium March 26th:
  http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/20259/Default.aspx
  
  
• Ohio Certified Master Naturalist training:
  http://montgomery.osu.edu/topics/ohio-certified-volunteer-naturalist-training-program/test-1
  
  
• Tri-State Green Industry Conference February 4th:
  http://hamilton.osu.edu/topics/horticulture/2010-tri-state-green-industry-conference
  
  
• Ohio Biological Survey Natural History Conference February 20th: Registration Form:
  http://www.ohiobiologicalsurvey.org/2010RegoForm.pdf
  
  
• “In Harmony with Nature” Meigs County, OH: see this link:
  http://meigs.osu.edu/events/in-harmony-with-nature