Recently the Hocking County Chapter of the Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalists hosted Advanced Training in Winter Tree Identification at Boch Hollow Nature Preserve. The day turned out beautiful, with temperatures in the low 50’s and sunshine. The perfect weather for a walk in the woods.
To start, Jim Osborn gave a lecture on twig morphology and then we dove into the textbooks to learn how to identify trees based on key descriptions. We used hand lenses and a stereo microscope to evaluate the buds, which provide a ton of information on what type of tree you are looking at, if you catch them before they open.
All in all it was an excellent day and I learned a ton about how to identify a tree in winter. There will be two more upcoming OCVN Advanced Training opportunities, but space is limited to about 12 people so dont dawdle. Contact Scott Cole to get your name on the list
- Saturday March 12th, “Basic map reading and land navigation” Boch Hollow 10am – 2pm
- Saturday April 30th – “Wildflower identification” Boch Hollow 10am – 2pm
If you get lucky, you might get a look at some wildlife as well. (credit to Jim O. for the pic)
-very special thanks to Jim Osborn and Levi Miller for sharing their time and expertise