Wetland Plants

During this course, registrants will have the opportunity to learn both wetland dicots as well as the much-harder-to-learn sedges, rushes, and grasses - and they will be taught by both their scientific and common names. During the day we will be visiting a number of diverse wetlands located in Highland and Ross Counties. Teachings will be supplemented with indoor gatherings in the evening when we will review what we have learned during the day. Because this is a professional-level course, some natural history background is recommended, but serious learners of all levels of experience are welcome to attend.

Knowledge gained by taking this course includes:

• species-recognition of wetland plants found in the Midwest and Eastern Mountains and Piedmont Regions (the two Corps regions that participants will likely encounter in Ohio)

• habitat indicators for wetland plant species

• how to assess if a particular soil is hydrophytic and wetlands-supporting (or was in the past)

• the various plant assemblages that compose emergent, shrub, and forested wetland communities.

• morphology of plants and anatomical features to look for in the field and/or under the microscopes (which will be provided at the Appalachian Forest Museum’s meeting room at the Sanctuary).

• the use of taxonomic keys when they are necessary for species identification

Registrants are encouraged to record their findings and plant identification in iNaturalist, where one can archive findings, record notes, and engage for memory assistance.

Tuition: $550 per person. Includes three evening presentations, two and one-half days of field trips. Registrants will be covering their own expenses for lodging, packed lunches, dinners & transportation.

Location: The education headquarters and lodging for this event will be at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary. The event’s meeting room will be at the Appalachian Forest Museum at the Sanctuary.

Attendance: Workshop attendance will be limited to no more than 15 people.

Leader: The leader for this event is Jacob Bartley, a Restoration Ecologist who has worked in the wetland and stream restoration/enhancement industry for 20 years. He is the owner of an ecological consulting firm known as Plum Hill Ecological Services, based out of Northern Kentucky. His expertise includes wetlands restoration and many other habitat enhancement projects. He serves as the project director of the Red Stone Farm Wetland Mitigation Bank, not far from the Sanctuary and where we will be visiting, where just a portion of their construction and restoration activities have included hand-planting 135,000 native trees and hand seeding over 3000 lbs of native perennial wetland seeds. The goal of this effort is to restore some of the historic forested wetland ecosystem known as the Beech Flats that once dominated this region of southern Ohio and to conserve it for perpetuity.

Registration Process: Lodging is not included in tuition, and we recommend that you secure your lodging following the registration process described below. If the event is already booked full, the registration button will be inactive, and you will see the announcement on the top of the page. If we are full, you are welcome to give us a call and ask to be put on the waiting list. If the button is active, it is safe to assume that registration is still open. When you are finished filling out the registration form, you will see the link that will take you to our payment center. You will not be registered until the registration fee is paid. Once we have your submitted form and your receipt of payment, you will be sent an emailed confirmation.

Lodging: Lodging is available for an additional fee at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary’s historic and fully modern group lodges. Local lodging is recommended for optimal rest and convenience. The cost is $50/per night for a room shared by the same gender, and $85/per night for a private room. Bathrooms are, in most cases, on the hall and shared, but there are a few exceptions - please inquire. All lodges have fully equipped kitchens and dining facilities. Participants are asked to bring their own food supplies for all meals, including packed lunches. We will serve you lunch on Sunday to make this easier. To make a lodging reservation call Cassidy Drummond, Education Coordinator at 937-794-3360

Transportation. Participants will drive their own cars to the described trailheads (see Schedule).

Cancellation policy.  In case of cancellation, refunds will be granted in full up until April 15th. After that time, all payments are final and if not used, will be recorded as a tax-deductible donation to the Arc of Appalachia. Registrations are transferable. If transferring your registration to another party, please be sure to give us the recipient’s name and email.

There are many hiking opportunities at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary - 18 miles of trails to be exact, and they are gorgeous. Most of them border the Rocky Fork Gorge and we highly recommend you squeeze in a few hikes. The trails outside the Museum begin literally right outside the door of the meeting room.

During this course, you may catch the very beginning of the Sanctuary’s earliest fireflies. It might be worth peeking your head out of the window and seeing if there is any action. The earliest fireflies can be found in the unmowed meadows which we winter-mow to help steward their populations.

Recommended field ID reference books:
Long term, learning wetlands plants from books requires having a number of them in hand. This course will teach you which book to reach for and for what purposes. It is not necessary that you invest in all these books to attend this course, but if you plan to be a serious life-long student of wetlands botany, eventually you may want them. Jacob will be bringing copies of all these books to the course for your use and reference.

• A Great Lakes Wetland Flora, Steve W. Chadde

• Sedges of the Northern Forest, Jerry Jenkins 

• Grasses of the Northern Forest, Jerry Jenkins

• Woody Plants of the Northern Forest, Jerry Jenkins

• Woody Plants of Kentucky and Tennessee, Ronald L Jones & B. Eugene Wofford, The Complete Winter Guide to Their Identification and Use

• Plant Life of Kentucky, Ronald L. Jones, An Illustrated Guide to the Vascular Flora

• Native Trees of the Southeast, L. Katherine Kirkman, Claud L. Brown, and Donald J. Leopold

• The Woody Plants of Ohio. E. Lucy Braun

• The Vascular Flora of Ohio, Volume One, The Monocotyledoneae Cat-tails to Orchids. E. Lucy Braun

• The Vascular Flora of Ohio, Volume Two, The Dicotyledoneae of Ohio Part 2. Linaceae through Campanulaceae. Tom S. Cooperrider

• The Vascular Flora of Ohio, Volume Two, The Dicotyledoneae of Ohio Part 3. Asteraceae. T. Richard Fisher

• Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Gleason and Cronquist 

• Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual. Noel H. Holmgren

What should I bring? 

• Cell phone in case of emergency and making a record of what you learn - can also be used as a magnifying glass by blowing up the photos

• Waterproof muck boots - calf high or taller, as we will probably walk through surface water at times.

• iNaturalist downloaded on your phone. If you are new to iNaturalist, we recommend you watch some training videos online.

• Raingear is recommended as this course will go on rain or shine. Consider a wide-brimmed hat to shed the rain and the sun, or at least a ball cap.

• Water bottle and day pack to carry your lunch.

• Hand lens if you have one

• Meal supplies. We compost at the Arc, and we will be supplying you with a compost bucket for food scraps only (please, no paper).

• Notebook or clipboard, pen, pencils, and paper (for sketching and field notes)

• Pocket money for snacks and small purchases; a credit card for dinners.

• Personal care items (soap, shampoo, etc.).

• Binoculars if you have them. There will be lots of wildlife to view.

• First aid kit appropriate to your needs

• Flashlight if you have one - there are no night lights at the Sanctuary

• Optional. Insect repellent for ticks & chiggers, see details below. We will also bring some to share. June is not a time we should have to overly worry about chiggers, thank goodness.

Cell phone coverage and the internet. Most cell phones work on Cave Road. There is no internet service at the lodges, however, so prepare to run a hotspot for your internet needs. You can also work off of the hotspot at the Appalachian Forest Museum (no movies please, but anything else is fine).

Comfort in the out-of-doors. We will be spending most of our time in the field, so please pack clothing that will allow you to be comfortable for a variety of weather conditions. In southern Ohio, our temperature highs could be anywhere from the high sixties to the low eighties. We encourage you to check the weather forecast before you pack. Night-time lows are equally variable, anywhere from the high forties to the low sixties, but most likely in the mid-fifties. 

Flying in? Participants may fly into either Cincinnati or Columbus. Both airports are roughly two hours from Portsmouth. 

Emergency Messages. Emergency messages for course participants can be left at the mainline of the Highlands Nature Sanctuary (937) 365-1935 during daytime hours. Leader’s cell phones will also be provided to you

Should I prepare for ticks, chiggers, biting insects, and poison ivy? You will have minimal but possible exposure to poison ivy. The leaders know the plant well and will help you avoid exposure. In May, the Sanctuary region does not support high numbers of uncomfortable biting insects, ticks, or chiggers. That said, no exposure to insects is not a realistic expectation for field studies.

Please click here to learn about the insect repellant that our field staff use that is safe and affordable.

Questions or interest in making lodging reservations:
For event & lodging information: Cassidy Drummond, Education Coordinator at 937-794-3360
Email: cassidy.arcofappalachia@gmail.com