Events and Opportunities
Our mission is to advance the knowledge and stewardship of wetlands, riparian areas, and other native habitats through research, outreach, and education. As such, we engage the surrounding community, OSU students, and local schools throughout the year. We participate in some programs annually, but create opportunities for involvement at the park on a regular basis. Head to our Upcoming Events page to see what we have scheduled and join in the fun.
Some of our signature programs in recent years include:
Pay It Forward & Service Projects
Pay It Forward is a student volunteer group on Ohio State’s campus that has visited to complete service projects at the Wetlands facility. Recent projects include painting the Sandefur Pavilion. We look forward to having students back to complete further service projects and clean-ups on site.
LSAMP – Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation
The LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) Program is a National Science Foundation program in which underrepresented first-year students engage in a three-week summer course on water science. The ORWRP’s previous director, Dr. Mazeika Sullivan, held this program on site for several years. Students gained hands-on experience with aquatic sampling techniques, sample processing methods, and geomorphic assessments.
Earth Day
Earth Day is a big deal here at the ORWRP. We affectionately like to call it “Earth Month”. This year we partnered with Green Columbus and Keep Columbus Beautiful to hold a trash pickup event onsite. Two ORWRP staff members, Krystal Pocock and Shelby Myers, and 4 volunteers (including OSU’s very own Mark Dilley!) collected over 20 bags of trash, most of which was removed near the Olentangy River.
OSU WestFest
WestFest is another event we participate in regularly. This event is OSU sponsored and showcases research and highlights other work completed by those programs which are housed on the West end of campus.
For a list of more recent events, head to our Past Events page!