WVU Core Arboretum Nature Connection Series

nature connection seriesLocal 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. Talks will be moved or cancelled if the weather is inclement. Free parking is available at the Arboretum Parking Lot and the adjacent WVU Coliseum Parking Lot. Come be a part of the WVU Core Arboretum nature crew!

2022 Calendar of Speakers and Talks:

June 7:  
Sunshine Brosi, Utah State University, Eastern, Associate Professor of Wildland Resources:   
Old-growth forests and their unique associated animals and plants

June 14:  
Kevin Dodge, Garrett College, Director of Natural Resources and Wildlife Technology:  
Mysterious, ephemeral, and cute: Northern saw-whet owls in the Central Appalachians

June 21:  
Sue Olcott, WV Division of Natural Resources, Retired Lepidoptera and Pollinator Conservation Project Leader:  
West Virginia Butterfly Atlas: Preliminary results

June 28:  
Zach Fowler, WVU Department of Biology, WVU Core Arboretum Director/Service Associate Professor:  
There is no place like home?: The Eastern Asian-Eastern North American floristic disjunction
July 5:  
Dave Samuel, WVU Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, Emeritus Professor of Wildlife:  
Whitetail deer in West Virginia: History, management, economics, and problems
July 12: cancelled due to rain, rescheduled for August 2
Samantha Moyers, WVU School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, PhD Candidate:  
Spending time in nature for human health
July 19: 
Jim Rentch, WVU Division of Forestry, Retired Professor:  
Bison in West Virginia

July 26: cancelled by speaker, rescheduled for next summer
Mack Frantz, WV Division of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage/Wildlife Diversity Zoologist:  
Macrolichens of West Virginia: A brief primer

August 2:  
Samantha Moyers, WVU School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, PhD Candidate:  
Spending time in nature for human health
August 9: cancelled due to rain, rescheduled for next summer  
Sandy Liebhold, US Forest Service, Research Entomologist:  
Spongy moth in North America: A not well-loved but lingering visitor
August 16:  
Madison Ball, Friends of the Cheat, Conservation Program Director:  
Eastern hellbender environmental-DNA monitoring in the Cheat River watershed

August 23:  
Randy Kelley, WV Division of Natural Resources, Elk Project Leader:  
Status of the West Virginia Elk Restoration Project

August 30:  
David Scofield, Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, Director:  
Living off the land: 19,000 years at the Meadowcroft Rockshelter
The 2022 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!