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Event to Feature Ohio’s Forests and the One in Ohio State’s Library

Jan. 26, 2017
A view of the Grand Reading Room in Ohio State’s Thompson Library in Columbus. The library is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its renovation, which made wide use of oak wood from Ohio. (Photo: University Communications.)

This news article was originally published on the website of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and was written by Kurt Knebusch.

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” exhibit that opens Feb. 1 in the university’s William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library.

Ohio State, state’s forests have a history

The exhibit, according to its website, “tells the story of the unique connections and history shared between The Ohio State University and Ohio’s forests.” It includes details on how white oak wood harvested from Ohio’s Zaleski State Forest, located about 70 miles southeast of Columbus, was used extensively in the library’s three-year, $109 million renovation.

The library is currently celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the completion of that renovation.

Protecting our forests in the future

Also speaking during the breakfast program will be Stephen Matthews, assistant professor of wildlife landscape ecology in Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR), on “Ohio’s Forests: Planning for Threats — Climate Change, Invasives and More.”

Matthews’ research, according to his bio, focuses on “understanding the responses of biodiversity and ecological systems to changing landscapes.”

After the speakers, an optional bus tour limited to 44 people will visit the library exhibit. Three of the exhibit’s curators will serve as tour guides.

Details on registration

Admission to the event, which includes breakfast, is open to both network members and the public. The cost is $10 by cash, check or Ohio State eRequest; $15 by credit card; and free for the first 15 Ohio State students. The library tour costs an additional $5. Details and a link to online registration are at go.osu.edu/Feb2017EPN.

Parking at the 4-H center for the program is free but requires a permit, which can be downloaded at go.osu.edu/Feb2017parking.

Sponsoring the event is the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry.

SENR, along with Ohio State’s Office of Energy and Environment and Office of Student Life’s Energy Management and Sustainability program, are co-sponsoring the event’s student registration.

The Environmental Professionals Network is a statewide professional group organized by SENR. Membership is free and open to anyone working or studying in an environmental field. Details are at epn.osu.edu

For more information on the event and network, contact coordinator David Hanselmann, who’s a lecturer with SENR, at hanselmann.3@osu.edu or 614-247-1908.

SENR is in Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

 

WRITER(S): 

Kurt Knebusch
knebusch.1@osu.edu
330-263-3776

SOURCE(S): 

David Hanselmann
hanselmann.3@osu.edu
614-247-1908