Program Calendar

January 2026

Ohio Woodland Stewards:  Old-Growth Forests In Ohio

January 13, 2026 • 7:15am - 9:30am Eastern • Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, Ohio State University

Registration link:  https://epn.osu.edu/events/old-growth-forests-ohio-lessons-forest-stewardship-changing-environment

Fee:  $25 for professionals; free for students and virtual attendees

Ohio is (still) home to old-growth forests anchor biodiversity, store carbon, and sustain natural ecosystem services. These forests shape soil health, influence water cycles, and provide critical habitat for species such as songbirds whose assemblages depend on complex forest structures. Yet centuries of human activity have left only scattered remnants, challenging us to rethink what the words “wild” and "old-growth" practically mean today. What does "ecological integrity" truly mean in a changing landscape where it is increasingly difficult to ignore human impact?

This Environmental Professionals Network panel will identify the core scientific facts about the importance and impact of old-growth forests—both globally and within Ohio—and examine strategies for reversing forest conversion to recover the ecosystem services these forests provide. We will explore how diverse stakeholders—non-profits, government agencies, municipalities, land trusts, and citizens—can collaborate effectively to protect remaining old-growth stands, and how to navigate competing land-use interests that often complicate forest management. Beyond policy and science, the discussion will focus on building informed, engaged communities: empowering environmental professionals and residents to learn about these forests and take meaningful action to conserve them for future generations.

Join us for a conversation that blends ecological insight with collaborative vision, inspiring a shared commitment to Ohio’s most enduring forests.

Lunch and Learn Webinar:  Managing Insects and Mites In Pollinator Gardens

January 13, 2026 • 12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern • Webinar

Registration link:  https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UZo6A-i7Q4SyDYAEHlMrtg?ampDeviceId=fbd38dd7-bbec-42c3-ab31-bd5a068a7f65&ampSessionId=1757688278210#/registration

Dr. Shetlar research areas include:  monitoring and assessing seasonal populations of sod webworms, hairy chinch bug and bluegrass billbug. Light trap samples have been taken for approximately 18 year/locations and the sod webworms species and northern masked chafer adults have been identified and tallied. However, these data do not help determine larval behavior during an entire season. Studies are to be initiated to take periodic samples and extract the sod webworm larvae to determine life tables. An ongoing project is evaluating hairy chinch bug populations in lawns with a specific interest on how the Beauveria fungal disease appears to be failing to control populations during times of moisture. Many new insecticides and/or formulations are being evaluated each year to determine their spectrum of activity (types of turfgrass insect pests controlled) and timing strategies (preventive, curative, rescue)

Zoom into Nature:  Allegheny Woodrat

January 13, 2026 • 6:30pm - 8:00pm Eastern • Webinar

Registration link:  https://wrlandconservancy.org/event/zoom-allegheny-woodrat/

Join us virtually for the presentation, The Rarest of Rodents: The Allegheny Woodrat in Ohio, with Laura Stalder. The Allegheny woodrat is a charming native mammal also known as a packrat or trader rat due to its habit of collecting unusual items. They are habitat specialists living among cliffs and rocky outcrops. Allegheny woodrats are listed as an Endangered species in Ohio, being found in only one southern county covering an area of less than 20 square miles. Biologists are working hard to try to save this charismatic species before it’s gone from the state.

Rooted In Bexley:  Bill Stanley, The Nature Conservancy

January 21, 2026 • 1:00pm - 2:00pm Eastern • Bexley Public Library,  2411 E. Main St, Bexley, OH

Bill Stanley Is the state director of The Nature Conservancy.  

Woodland Stewards:  Where Do the Logs Go after Harvest?

January 23, 2026 • 10:00am - 11:00am Eastern • Webinar

Registration:  https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_t003uqbLQ2yg7TF51M9Awg#/registration

There are a variety of possible end-uses for hardwood logs after harvest.  Join the US Forest Service's Matt Bumgardner for this webinar that will explore trends in current hardwood markets, what consumers are thinking, and discuss where the industry might be headed.  (This is a reboot of the October 2025 webinar that was cancelled.) 

North Central Ohio Pollinator Pathway Summit

January 31, 2026 • 1:00pm - 4:15pm Eastern • Ohio Wesleyan University, Benes Room, Delaware, OH

Fee:  $10.   

Registration link:  https://donorbox.org/events/893091/steps/choose_tickets

Join us for the third annual summit, (Re)Learning the Earth: Joining the Pollinator Pathway.  Speakers Include Diana Kadonaga, founder of Sunny Glen Garden; Jana Hogan, executive director of National Pollinator Pathway; and many others.

February 2026

Rooted In Bexley:  Martin McAllister, Friends of Scioto Brush Creek

February 11, 2026 • 1:00pm - 2:00pm Eastern • Bexley Public Library,  2411 E. Main St, Bexley, OH

Martin McAllister is with the Friends of Scioto Brush Creek.

Lunch and Learn Webinar:  Seed Starting Basics

February 17, 2026 • 12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern • Webinar

Registration link:  https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RkHjdpTVQWKX1W9Q9N4huw#/registration

Carri Brown has her Bachelors in Agriculture Education and Masters in Human Resources Management.  She's worked for over ten years in the Horticulture industry, in retail garden center sales and wholesale growing and sales of perennials and herbs. 

March 2026

Lunch and Learn Webinar:  Planting Trees for Longevity

March 10, 2026 • 12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern • Webinar

Registration link:  https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_P0m8273ARUmyWzcudnBCzQ#/registration

Pam Bennett is an Associate Professor with The Ohio State University and serves as the State Master Gardener Volunteer Program Director and Horticulture Educator for OSU Extension in Clark County. She specializes in herbaceous ornamental plant trials and presents programs on annuals and perennials as well as other landscape topics locally, statewide, and nationally.  Pam has also lectured in South Korea, China, Greece and Turkey.  She is a Clark County Park District Commissioner and a Board member of the Hartman Rock Garden.  She is the past president of the Friends of the Ohio Governor's Residence and Heritage Garden. Pam is the co-author of an award-winning book, Garden-pedia, An A-to- Z Guide to Gardening Terms, writes a weekly gardening column for eight counties receiving the Cox Publishing brands, authors the bi-monthly Ask the Expert Column for Ohio Gardening magazine and is a frequent writer for popular gardening magazines as well as trade publications. 

Rooted In Bexley:  Rebecca McMackin, American Horticultural Society

March 18, 2026 • 1:00pm - 2:00pm Eastern • Bexley Public Library,  2411 E. Main St, Bexley, OH

Rebecca McMackin is the lead horticulturist with the American Horticultural Society.

Woodland Stewards:  Ohio River Valley Woodland & Wildlife Landowners Workshop

March 21, 2026 • 10:00am - 11:00am Eastern • 

Registration will be available in early January  

Midwest Native Plant Society:  Living Landscapes:  Native Tree and Shrub Symposium

March 21, 2026 • 10:00am - 4:00pm Eastern • Cincinnati Zoo, Frisch's Theater

Registration fee $95, includes Zoo day-pass; free parking, and a sit-down buffet.

Registration link:  https://www.midwestnativeplants.org/other-events#LivingLandscapes-TreesandShrubs

Speakers include:  Jim McCormac, Tom Borgman, Sam Settlemyre, Greg Torres, and Brian Jorg. 

Lunch and Learn Webinar:  The Mental health Benefits of Plants

March 24, 2026 • 12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern • Webinar

Registration link:  https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CBVm-odoQ4GTlz56OQsFxQ#/registration

Dr. Charlie Hall grew up in the industry on a nursery in Western North Carolina. Although an economist by training, he is currently a Professor in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at the Texas A&M University and also holder of the Ellison Chair in International Floriculture. His major areas of specialization include innovative management and marketing strategies, financial analysis and benchmarking, and the situation/outlook for nursery and greenhouse crops. He is an invited speaker at numerous regional, national, and international meetings of various industry-related associations and organizations. He is particularly known for the enthusiasm, passion, and intensity he exhibits when speaking. Dr. Hall is an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association (TNLA) and has received TNLA’s Award for Outstanding Service to the Nursery Industry. He is also a member of the Hall of Fame and Honorary Lifetime Member of the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association.

April 2026

Rooted In Bexley:  Mike Tidwell, Author and Founder of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network

April 8, 2026 • 1:00pm - 2:00pm Eastern • Bexley Public Library,  2411 E. Main St, Bexley, OH

Mike Tidwell is the author of The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue and the founder of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Lunch and Learn Webinar:  Perennial Lavendar:  Varieties Best for Ohio

April 14, 2026 • 12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern • Webinar

Registration link:  https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vQc8nJpbQPyRvFzrrfS6pw#/registration

Sabrina Schirtzinger is one of two Agricultural and Natural Resource Extension Educators in Knox County. Being in a two-educator county is gives Sabrina the opportunity to specialize in Horticulture.  Sabrina enjoys gardening and has numerous perennial gardens and helps to operate her daughters cut flower business called Piper’s Poises. Being an extension educator, wife, and mother of two doesn’t give Sabrina much time for gardening but she has helped Piper grow her business by using simple cut flower techniques to extend their growing season.

Lunch and Learn Webinar:  Medicine In Your Garden

April 28, 2026 • 12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern • Webinar

Registration link: https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4YprsEA7Tt-lOXKy2XKIrw#/registration

Dr. Andrew King is an assistant professor of ornamental horticulture for Texas A&M AgriLife in Overton, Texas. Andrew’s research interests include ornamental plant improvement, ornamental plant trialing, medicinal plants and nursery/greenhouse production systems. Andrew is a fourth generation horticulturist whose family business, King’s Nursery in Tenaha, Texas, is well over 100 years old. Andrew has served on faculty in the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences in College Station, Texas and as the Assistant Director of SFA Gardens on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.

May 2026

Lunch and Learn Webinar:  Backyard Pond Plants:  Friend or Foe?

May 12, 2026 • 12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern • Webinar

Registration link:  https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SwT8nY6BRxq5Mt0xEbzP5Q#/registration

Eugene Braig is a fisheries biologist by training and applied-limnology jack of all trades in practice; Program Director for Aquatic Ecosystems with Ohio State University Extension; and charged with outreach, classroom teaching, and research.  He joined the Ohio Biological Survey Board of Trustees in 2018 and is active with several additional advisory committees and professional organizations.  Fully embracing nerd status, he moonlights as a classical musician and serves as Artistic Director of the Columbus Guitar Society’s concert series.

Escape to the Forest Webinar:  Where Do Logs Go after Harvest?

October 24, 2025 • 10:00am - 12:00pm Eastern • Webinar

Registration:  https://woodlandstewards.osu.edu/events/webinar-where-do-logs-go-after-harvest

There are a variety of possible end-uses for hardwood logs after harvest.  Join the US Forest Service's Matt Bumgardner for this webinar that will explore trends in current hardwood markets, what consumers are thinking, and discuss where the industry might be headed.