The Ohio: Sense of Place field trip series kicks off with the Ohio Tree and Plant Tour on Saturday, Sept. 28.
Participants will get a guided look at the forest communities of Athens County at Stroud’s Run State Park on Sunday, Sept. 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. Two different guided walks will include an investigation of the impact of human land use on current forest communities, the native and non-native plants of southeastern Ohio, and the use of plants in Ohio cultures of the present and past. The field trip will be led by Dr. Glenn Matlack and Dr. Martha Bishop of the Ohio University Department of Environmental & Plant Biology.
The Ohio Tree and Plant Tour will depart from the parking lot behind Porter Hall at 1 p.m. on an Ohio University charter bus and will return to the same location at 4 p.m. Water will be provided to attendees as well as maps and informational booklets on the plants of the region.
The field trips will include walking on and off the trails of Stroud’s Run, so participants should wear appropriate clothing including long pants and sturdy footwear. Space is limited, so reservations are required. Please email Dr. Daniel Hembree, Associate Professor of Geological Sciences, at hembree@ohio.edu with your reservation and indicate which guided walk you would like to attend.
This Place Isn’t What It Used To Be: Traces of Past Land Use in the Modern Forest Community
Leader: Dr. Glenn Matlack, Associate Professor of Environmental & Plant Biology
Abstract: We are accustomed to think of history shaping the culture of a place, but history also shapes the landscape and biological community in a very concrete way. Southeastern Ohio has experienced many very different land uses over the last three hundred years; the current forest cover is only a recent guise paralleling the decline of agriculture and the rise of service industries (like Ohio University) in the 20th century. On the field trip we will walk through the beautiful forests of Stroud’s Run State Park and examine the traces of former land uses. We will ask how past uses have shaped the modern forest community and, by inference, what impact our use of the land will have in the future. We will see that there is a very different place waiting to express itself in southeast Ohio, and it looks like Stroud’s Run!
Capacity: 12 people
Plants and Mushrooms of Southeastern Ohio
Leader: Martha Bishop, Environmental & Plant Biology
Abstract: In southeastern Ohio we are fortunate to coexist with an unusual diversity of plants and fungi. We will explore Stroud’s Run State Park, and observe and discuss native and non-native plants and their historical and current uses in various Ohio cultures. We will consider the role of plants, fungi, and land use in the local ecology, and learn to identify some of the prominent plant and fungal species.
“You can’t know who you are until you know where you are.” – Wendell Berry
Capacity: 15 people
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