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Ecological Restoration Seminars Available by Request of a Sponsoring Organization

(in Eastern Canada and Eastern United States only)

Organizations with special training needs may request customized seminars for their staff. Draft syllabi are available. Syllabi can be adapted to suit the special training needs and interests of your organization. If the seminar is designed with a special project in mind, project-consulting services are available after the seminar has concluded. Seminars that are scheduled for organizations are billed on a per-teaching-day basis, plus costs, rather than on a per-participant basis. Sponsors have the option to allow open registration by participants from other organizations (to assist with budgeting). Inquiries are welcome!

Applied Ecological Restoration: Introduction and Overview
Comprehensive reviews of underlying concepts and step-by-step practical details in developing restoration plans will be presented. Discussions will focus on plant sources, soil renovation, seeding concepts, natural materials use, and exotic invasive species. Participants will work with three-dimensional, hands-on models of sites and problem areas. The emphasis will be on planning workable, reliable, and affordable restoration plans for several different environments.

Freshwater Wetland and Upland Restoration in the Southeastern Coastal Plain
Participants in this workshop will learn methods and strategies for restoring longleaf pinelands, wet prairies, marshes, forested wetlands, and scrub. Native seed collection/handling and control of exotic species are emphasized. Restoration principles are reviewed. Essential steps are presented for conducting restoration from start to finish. The conduct of restoration within a mitigation context is discussed. A one-day field trip characterizes ecosystems, their disturbance, and their restoration.

Introduction to Bioengineering
This workshop explains the basic concept of bioengineering using native plants and natural plant materials to perform corrective service in disturbed and unstable natural environments. Methods, materials, planning concepts, tools, designs, and implementation procedures will be introduced. Both the ecosystem and watershed will be discussed in relation to how they affect bioengineering designs. A small field installation may be done, during which problem areas would be viewed and discussed.

SER Guidelines and New Primer
This workshop explores what ecological restoration is, how it is appropriately conducted, and why it is a crucial endeavor. Several contexts for restoration will be described, including mitigation and volunteer stewardship programs. Related activities, including ecosystem management, reclamation, and rehabilitation, will also be discussed. The workshop follows The SER Primer on Ecological Restoration and Guidelines for Developing and Managing Ecological Restoration Projects, both accessible on the website of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER).

Forest Restoration
Topics and exercises include alternatives to forest reclamation and reforestation practices, developing native species selections, densities, planting methods, soil improvements, use of commercial and wild inoculants, and overall plan concepts. Herbivory, exclosures, repellents, sources of planting material, native species ranges, classical vegetation references, logistics, equipment, and other topics will be covered. Field work will include on-site conceptual planning by participants.

Restoration on Problem Soils
Using both ecological theory and case studies, this seminar places the challenge of restoring sites having problem soils in the context of the Law of Limiting Factors. Prior to restoration, an inventory is made of potential limiting factors and their importance. Limiting factors considered include those that are physical (e.g., soil texture, moisture relations), chemical (e.g., nutrient deficiency, metals toxicity, pH), and biological (e.g., seed bank, mycorrhizae). The concept of minimal amelioration will also be stressed, in which limiting factors are ameliorated only to the minimal degree necessary, in order to avoid problems with weediness and competition.

Salvage of Plant Communities
This seminar focuses on long-term patterns of destroying native land cover plant communities prior to development of sites, and opportunities to destroy less while recycling those valuable live materials. Participants will be provided with a detailed understanding of unique opportunities that salvage offers restoration planners. Information on tools, equipment, techniques, logistics, and timing will be provided. Project success histories will be provided. The unknown and unpredictable benefits of the soil seedbank and other propagules will be introduced.

Applied Habitat Restoration in Flood-adapted Ecosystems
Key topics in this seminar include the range and variety of pulsed ecosystems, species and community adaptations to flooding, importance of site physiography, engineering concepts affecting floodland restoration, and special considerations for urban hydrologic regimes. Field trips will add practical insights on the recognition of hydrologic status and restoration strategies at various scales. Field sites will be critiqued to provide the participants with hands-on problem-solving experience.

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