LONDON, Ohio – Just a short shuttle ride from the main grounds of Farm Science Review rests the 67-acre Gwynne Conservation Area, where visitors can attend scheduled programs that cover a wide range of natural resource topics. Guests hop aboard a wagon and head to the Gwynne to hear from specialists, agency staff and conservation professionals, then ask questions about their own goals and challenges.

Visitors can join curated wagon rides from the west entrance on the FSR grounds, attend presentations in themed tents or explore demonstration areas on their own. The site is designed to be interactive, with opportunities to “get hands dirty and feet wet’ while learning.

Managed by Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the Gwynne Conservation Area serves as a “living lab,” where visitors can see conservation in action and get that hands-on educational experience, guided tours and expert-led programs focused on conservation practices.

“The Gwynne offers a little something for everyone with an interest in natural resources,” said Carrie Brown, agriculture and natural resources educator for Ohio State Extension. “Featuring a pond, wetland, tallgrass prairie, stream, pawpaw orchard and forage plots, participants can learn by attending presentations given by experts.”

The Gwynne offers 50-plus talks by experts. During the pond walks, experts will show how to identify aquatic vegetation. The forage plot tour shows cover crops and grazing options. Pawpaw orchard hikes will discuss propagation and uses. The wildlife tour will discuss habitat projects such as nest boxes, bluebird habitats and pollinator plantings.

Visitors can learn to spot the invasive spotted lanternfly, hear about recovery efforts for endangered species like the rusty patched bumble bee, and discover how native plants can benefit both landscapes and biodiversity. Attendees can learn about fruit tree pruning techniques, how to plant for pollinators, observe electrofishing demonstrations, learn tips on controlling invasive plants, tree identification and how to grow gourmet mushrooms.

The Gwynne offers woodland management tips, aquatic invasive species control, deer and goose damage control, mole control, timber market basics and safety tips on chain saws.

The topics take place in either the Wildlife & Aquatics, Forages & Grazing, Woodland or Woodland Demonstration areas of the Gwynne Conservation Area.

“The Gwynne is designed to give people not only the science behind conservation but also the chance to experience it directly, whether it’s learning how to improve a pasture, cast a fishing line or recognize an invasive species,” Brown said. “When people leave the Gwynne, we hope they walk away with knowledge they can apply on their own land, in their own communities and in their everyday lives.”

Thirteen educational sessions alone will take place in the Gwynne Cabin section of the Gwynne Conservation Area. On Tuesday, Certified Ohio Master Urban Farmer Valerie Libbey will lecture on the pawpaw. Libbey owns a native plant nursery in Washington Court House and is a veteran pawpaw grower. Visitors might want to hang out after her presentation and enjoy an ice cream social.

Other presentations on Tuesday include those on managing against invasive and nuisance species in ponds, 250 years of fruit trees in America and the history of conservation in Ohio and future challenges.

Five presentations in the Gwynn Cabin take place on Wednesday, headlined by Thomas deHaas topic Controlling Spotted Lanternfly: What are my Options? An OSU Extension specialist from Lake County, Ohio, deHaas is known for his engaging, often humorous approach to teaching, oftentimes using puns to make horticulture topics memorable. For example, identifying a dogwood tree “by its bark.” But deHaas intends on taking a serious approach to this serious matter of the spotted lanternfly.

Other presentations on Wednesday include raising game birds and what we’re learning about water, land and farm resilience.

On Friday, two presentations wrap up action at the Gwynne Cabin. Entomology expert Michelle Pham and Emily Runnion, researcher in the Bumble Bee Health and Genetics Laboratory at Ohio State University, offer their topic Garden for Wildlife and the Movement for Native Bee Conservation. The two will talk about the historical efforts leading to the present day preservation of bees.

In the final presentation that day, Connie Hausman, senior conservation science manager at Cleveland Metroparks, will lead discussions about her topic: Ohio Biological Survey: Supporting Science and Research of Ohio’s flora and fauna for 114 years.