biodiversity

‘What kind of world is this when a biologist needs to be scared to tell the truth?’

CFAES’s 2018 Environmental Film Series continues at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19, with “A River Below.” It’s the story of two South American activists’ attempts to use media coverage to help save the endangered Amazon River dolphin, but who face ethical and moral issues along the way.

“What sacrifices are acceptable in the battle for this endangered animal, and what are the grander social, economical and environmental issues involved?” Cara Cusumano, Tribeca Film Festival programming director, asks in writing about the film on the festival’s website. “Mark Grieco’s surprising documentary digs into the ethics of activism in the modern media age.”

Watch the trailer above. Get full details about the screening.

Home improvement for pollinators

The next Pollinator School workshop, presented by the Mahoning County office of CFAES’s outreach arm, OSU Extension, runs from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in Canfield in northeast Ohio. The program’s title is “Habitats.” It’s about seeing, understanding and improving where pollinators live and feed. Registration is $10. Learn more. (Photo: Getty Images.)

A look at a bee we should see

The 2018 webinar series hosted by CFAES’s Bee Lab wraps up at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, with “The Ohio Bee Survey: In Search of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee” by Randy Mitchell of the University of Akron.

In early 2017, the rusty patched bumble bee, shown here, after suffering significant population declines, became the first bee placed on the endangered species list in the continental United States.

Find details. Watching the webinar is free; use the “Guest Login” at 8:55 a.m. (Photo: USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab, Beltsville, Maryland (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.)

Further fungi, a lotta lichens

The series called A Day in the Woods, co-sponsored by CFAES’s Ohio State University Extension outreach arm, continues from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, with “Fall Treasures from Your Woodland.” It’s in Vinton Furnace State Forest in McArthur in southeast Ohio.

The focus of the event will be on organisms such as fungi and lichens that grow in, work in and brighten a woods in autumn.

Registration is $12. Get more details (scroll down). (Photo: Getty Images.)

Come study woodland fungus amongus

CFAES’s Ohio Woodland Stewards Program holds a workshop called Fascinating Woodland Fungi on Friday, Oct. 12, on Ohio State’s Mansfield campus. Registration is $35 and includes lunch and handouts. The deadline to register is Friday, Oct. 5.

Unearth more details and register online. (Photo: Jack-o’-lantern mushrooms, beautiful but definitely not to be eaten, Getty Images.)

Making homes for pollinators

Pollinators — butterflies, bees and others — are key to farming, gardening and healthy diets. But globally, unfortunately, their populations are declining. Learn and see ways to help them, especially by growing the plants they need, in an expert talk called “Pollinator Habitat” in the Gwynne Conservation Area at Farm Science Review. It’s set for noon to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20.

See the full Gwynne schedule. The Review overall runs from Sept. 18-20. (Photo: Monarch butterfly, Getty Images.)

Hello, friend; or, Froggy went a-helpin’

CFAES wildlife specialist Marne Titchenell presents “Common Frogs and Snakes of Ohio” from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in the Gwynne Conservation Area at Farm Science Review. It’s a look at your small, shy, helpful neighbors — American toads, green frogs, garter snakes and others — and the good they do for farms, yards and gardens. See the full Gwynne schedule. (Photo: Leopard frog, Getty Images.)