WVU Core Arboretum Nature Connection Series

nature connection series pawpaw Local and regional experts on a variety of nature-related subjects give public talks at the Arboretum each summer as part of the WVU Core Arboretum Nature Connection Series. The Nature Connection Series talks happen on Tuesday evenings at 6:00 at the WVU Core Arboretum Amphitheater, starting in early June and continuing through late August. These talks are free and open to the public, and no registration is required. All of the talks are outdoors, so please dress for the weather. Some of the talks include walking and/or fieldwork. Talks will be moved or cancelled if the weather is inclement. Come be a part of the WVU Core Arboretum nature crew!

2021 Calendar of Speakers and Talks:

June 22:  
Mack Frantz , WV Division of Natural Resources, Wildlife Diversity/Natural Heritage Zoologist :   
Fireflies of West Virginia

June 29:  
Claudette Simard , Fairmont State University, Adjunct Professor of Earth Science :  
How West Virginia became the mountain state

July 6:  
Elizabeth Rowen , WVU, Service Assistant Professor of Plant and Soil Science :  
Bugs below: The hidden worlds beneath our feet

July 13:  
Jim Fregonara , WV Division of Natural Resources, Wildlife Biologist :  
Snakes: They’re not slimy, they’re cool

July 20:
Sue Olcott , WV Division of Natural Resources, Lepidoptera and Pollinator Conservation Project Leader:  
Pollinator conservation: One reason why bugs matter

July 27:  
Tom Pauley , Marshall University, Professor Emeritus of Biology :  
Salamanders, snakes, and memories: 50 years of searching West Virginia’s mountains and valleys for amphibians and reptiles

August 3:  
Jesse Fallon , Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia, Veterinarian :  
Get the lead out: Lead toxicity in scavenging raptors

August 10:  
Randy Kelley , WV Division of Natural Resources, Elk Project Leader :    
Status of the West Virginia elk restoration project

August 17:  
Kevin Dodge , Garrett College, Director of Natural Resources and Wildlife Technology:  
Mysterious, ephemeral, and cute: Northern saw-whet owls in the Central Appalachians

August 24:  
Amy Metheny , WVU, Research Assistant in Forest Pathology and Environmental Microbiology :  
American chestnut restoration efforts in Appalachia

August 31:  
Hannah Clipp and Stephanie Augustine , WVU, Graduate Students in Forestry and Natural Resources:  
Birds of the Monongahela National Forest: What we know and what we are learning

The 2021 WVU Core Arboretum Nature Connection Series is supported by the WVU Department of Biology, the WVU Core Arboretum Endowment, and donations from the public. All speakers are volunteers. Thank you to all who support the mission of WVU Core Arboretum!