Gibraltar Island, OH Science and outdoor writers and reporters are invited to register for this year’s Lake Erie Outdoor Writers Workshop at Ohio State University’s Stone Lab at Put-in-Bay. The free two-day event, held August 26-27, will allow writers to better understand critical issues facing Lake Erie, such as harmful algal blooms, invasive species, and the lake’s outlook for the future.
“Our goal for this workshop is to provide writers with a very enjoyable and informative experience on Lake Erie, Ohio’s most valuable natural resource”? says Dr. Jeff Reutter, Director of Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab. “We will provide participants with a hands-on learning experience, an opportunity to experience and observe this wonderful resource, have questions answered, tell us their needs and concerns, and discuss important issues with experts.”?
The program will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, August 26, and conclude after lunch on Tuesday, August 27. During their two days on Gibraltar Island, writers and reporters will tour Gibraltar Island, visit the South Bass Island Lighthouse, Cooke Castle, Stone Lab’s new water quality laboratory, and the Aquatic Visitors Center in the historic Put-in-Bay Fish Hatchery. Presentations by experts on key issues affecting Lake Erie and coastal communities will supplement a science cruise on one of Stone Lab’s research vessels where participants will pull a fish trawl and collect plankton, water, and invertebrate samples to get a hands-on feel for Lake Erie research.
Participants will also have the opportunity to interview experts one-on-one throughout the workshop, so cameras and recording devices are strongly encouraged. Stone Lab will provide meals, overnight housing, and ferry transportation, but participants are responsible for their own transportation to the Miller Ferry dock at Catawba Point.
Interested writers and reporters should RSVP by August 19 to Kelly Dress at Stone Lab (dress.3@osu.edu) with the names of people attending, their phone numbers, and their email addresses to receive additional information. Participation is limited to the first 30 registrants.
The Lake Erie Outdoor Writers Workshop is sponsored by the Joyce Foundation, the Ohio Sea Grant College Program, and the Friends of Stone Lab (FOSL).
Located on the 6.5-acre Gibraltar Island in Put-in-Bay harbor, Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s Island Campus on Lake Erie and the research, education, and outreach facility of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program. Established in 1895, Stone Laboratory is the oldest freshwater biological field station in the United States and the center of Ohio State University’s teaching and research on Lake Erie. Stone Lab offers 25 college-credit science courses each summer for undergraduate and graduate students, advanced high school students, and educators. For information on Stone Laboratory, visit stonelab.osu.edu.
Contact
Kelly Dress, Stone Lab, dress.3@osu.edu, 419.285.1800
Jill Jentes Banicki, jentes.1@osu.edu, 614.292.8975