If you are a gardener, one of your favorite winter activities may be to curl up in a comfy chair and page through seed and plant catalogs in anticipation of what you want to grow in your garden and on your property. Before you make purchases, consider whether a plant is native or non-native. Will it become invasive and take over other landscaping? Is it a friend or foe for pollinators and wildlife? If you want to avoid introducing invasive flora and fauna into the landscape or have inherited a problem, there are solutions.
To help answer questions you have about invasive species, Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is hosting a workshop on Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the Longview Center located at 1495 W. Longview Ave. in Mansfield.
Learn about aquatic invasive plants in backyard ponds and natural areas in Ohio from Mark Warman. Several water weed species are on the move and threaten our recreation, ecosystem, and economic interests. Identification, notes from the field, and response strategies will be discussed. Notable and rare aquatic plant discoveries in Ohio from the past five years will conclude his presentation.
Warman’s job with the Cleveland Metroparks involves working on an aquatic invasive plant early detection and rapid response project in Ohio’s Lake Erie Basin. His responsibilities are to survey macrophytes, assist with management strategies, and coordinate partners to protect Ohio’s water resources. Funding comes from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service via the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Program.
What is a weed and what makes a weed an invasive weed? Janell Baran will teach you how to identify and understand several of Ohio’s most common plant invasives and then explore alternative — and sometimes unexpected — ways to combat them without using herbicides.
Baran is the owner and operator of Blue Owl Garden Emporium herb farm and Blue Owl Hollow forest farm. After spending 20 years in the computer industry, a series of events inspired her to leave that life and become a farmer full-time in 2006. She now lives a busy, dirty, physically exhausting, but very satisfying life on an old mid-1800s farmstead nestled in the hills and hollows of central Ohio.
The cost for the workshop is $10 per person, and refreshments will be provided.
Please visit https://richlandswcd.net/events/ or call 419-747-8685 for more information and to register for the workshop.
Submitted by the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District.
