14th Annual Chapter Meeting:
“For the Love of Restoration: History and Adaptation”
In-Person at The Leopold Center & Vennebu Hill, Baraboo, Wisconsin
April 14 to April 16, 2023
Join us for the fourteenth annual meeting of the SER Midwest-Great Lakes Chapter. Our goal is to reflect upon the joy of restoration, celebrate the long tradition of ecological restoration in the Midwest, and learn how new challenges are stimulating novel changes within the field.
Registration Rates ↗
Early Registration has been extended through March 31st!
Final Program↗
Final Meeting Program is now on-line. Follow the link!
Past Annual Meetings↗
Get to know our organization and learn about past annual meetings.
Our meeting agenda includes:
A keynote presentation by Curt Meine (The Aldo Leopold Foundation and Center for Humans and Nature) on The Courage of Our Connections: Restoration in Times of Rapid Social and Environmental Change.
An opening plenary session on A Confluence of People, Passion, and Place: The Past, Present, and Future of Ecological Restoration in Southern Wisconsin.
Join us as Buddy Huffaker (The Aldo Leopold Foundation), Mike Mossman (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Retired), and Karen Oberhauser (University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum) recount the role of Southern Wisconsin in the origins of ecological restoration, how the region continues to be a leader in the field, and what we need to be thinking about so that we collectively create healthy and resilient communities for all people and all places.
A meeting host field tour titled A Journey in Time with the Aldo Leopold Foundation.
The Leopold Center has organized a guided field tour with stops at the Leopold Shack, the second oldest prairie restoration in the world, and the 17.8 km2 Leopold-Pines Conservation Area.
Two workshops:
- Designing Ecological Restoration Goals and Objectives to be Climate-Smart
- Is the Enemy of My Enemy My Friend? Identifying and Reporting a Newly Arrived Garlic Mustard Specialist Aphid – Lipaphis alliarae
Three symposia:
- Monitoring and Managing Deer Impacts as Part of Ecological Restoration: Varying Challenges in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Natural Areas,
- Spreading the Love: Doing Restoration and Stewardship Outside of Large, Public Natural Areas
- Disturbance-Renewal Ecology: Restoration of Processes for Long-Term Ecological Integrity
Oral presentation sessions:
38 presenters from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, New York, and Wisconsin who will share their experiences involving prairie, forest, stream, river, floodplain, and urban restoration. Presentation topics include establishing restoration targets for urban lawns, ecological and social benefits of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, pollinator habitat restoration, and more!
Dedicated contributed poster session:
23 presenters from Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Virginia who will share their experiences involving prairie, forest, wetland, stream, and urban restoration. Presentation topics include lepidopteran responses to forest restoration, fungi impacts on prairie restoration efforts, ecological restoration education, pre-project assessments of dam removal and stream restoration efforts, and more.
Choice of one from among four field trips:
- Pines Wetland Restoration: Legacy and Opportunity
- Forty years of Restoration by the International Crane Foundation
- Roll on Baraboo. Roll on Again
- Mąą Wakącąkra Healing of People and Place
A dedication ceremony for The Leopold Center,
And… Social Events!
Several social events are scheduled that include a sponsorship reception on Friday April 14, breakfast on Saturday April 15, a boxed lunch on Friday April 14 and Saturday April 15, and a no-host social on Saturday April 15.
Meeting updates will be periodically posted on our Twitter and Instagram accounts and our Chapter website. We encourage everyone to join us to learn about recent research findings, novel restoration techniques, and the chance to socialize with your colleagues.
If you plan to attend, please also view our code of conduct and health and safety protocol.
2023 FINAL MEETING SCHEDULE
| Friday April 14 | |
| 8:00 am – 4:30 pm | Registration |
| 8:20 am – 10:20 am | Workshops |
| 10:20 am – 10:40 am | Break |
| 10:40 am – 11:40 am | Concurrent Oral Presentation Sessions |
| 11:40 am – 2:10 pm | Lunch and Opening Plenary Session |
| 2:10 pm – 2:20 pm | Break |
| 2:20 pm – 4:20 pm | Symposia |
| 4:20 pm – 5:00 pm | Break, Travel to The Leopold Center and Poster Presentation Setup |
| 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm | Poster Session, Sponsorship Reception, and Leopold Center Dedication |
| Saturday April 15 | |
| 7:00 am – 11:00 am | Registration |
| 8:20 am – 10:00 am | Concurrent Oral Presentation Sessions |
| 10:00 am – 10:20 am | Break |
| 10:20 am – 12:00 pm | Concurrent Oral Presentation Sessions |
| 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | Lunch, Business Meeting, Awards Ceremony |
| 1:00 pm – 1:15 pm | Break |
| 1:15 pm – 2:15 pm | Keynote Presentation |
| 2:15 pm – 2:45 pm | Break |
| 2:45 pm – 5;45 pm | Plenary Host Tour Aldo Leopold Center |
| 6:30 pm – whenever | No Host Social |
| Sunday April 16 | |
| 9:00 am – 12:30 PM | Offsite field trips |
Meeting Location and Lodging Information
The Chapter Meeting is being held at the Leopold Center and Vennebu Hill in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The registration desk will be located at Vennebu Hill on Friday April 14, 2023 and Saturday April 15, 2023. The physical address of Vennebu Hill is 360 County Road A, Baraboo, Wisconsin 53913.
Important note on Continuing Education Credits (CEC’s):
“For the Love of Restoration: History and Adaptation, 14th Annual Chapter Meeting,
Society for Ecological Restoration – Midwest Great Lakes Chapter” was pre-approved
for 10 continuing education credits under SER’s Certified Ecological Restoration
Practitioner (CERP) program. The event has been added to the calendar on the SER
website (http://www.ser.org/events/ ).
We have also been pre-approved for CEC credits from the ISA (International Society of
Arboriculture). For information on all potential CEC credits from organizations, please
see the link to our “CEC Cheat Sheet” here:
https://chapter.ser.org/midwestgreatlakes/files/2023/04/CEC-Cheat-Sheet_final_4.10.23.
pdf
You will need to verify attendance/completion of the activity in order for attendees to
receive CECs. For SER, the most common verification types are either a
CERP/CERPIT sign-in sheet or a Certificate of Completion. All documentation must
include the date and title of the event.
We have created a Passport to allow you to keep track of your attendance of events
during the program. Check out the link here for the passport:
https://chapter.ser.org/midwestgreatlakes/files/2023/04/Meeting-Passport_final_4.10.23.
pdf,
Thank you to our generous Meeting Host & sponsors:
MEETING CO-HOST: The Aldo Leopold Foundation
RUE ANEMONE SPONSOR: Environmental Consulting & Technology, University of Minnesota Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
PRAIRIE TRILLIUM SPONSORS: Davey Resource Group, GEI, KCI Technologies Inc, Ernst Conservation Seeds
BLOODROOT SPONSORS: Ecological Design, Holden Forest & Gardens, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Land Restoration School, MycoBloom, Osage Inc., University of Northern Iowa Tallgrass Prairie Center
Sponsorship opportunities are still available! Click here to view the different sponsorship tiers and their associated benefits.
If you have questions about sponsorship then please contact Mary Damm (email: marydamm@gmail.com).