Workshops

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Description: The Lake Erie Island Wetland Plant Identification and Field VIBI Workshops offer participants three days of place‑based learning at Stone Laboratory, Ohio State University’s island campus on Lake Erie. Through hands‑on fieldwork and expert instruction, participants will learn to identify Lake Erie’s floating and submersed aquatic vascular plants and will receive training in wetland plant identification and field methods for conducting a Vegetation Index of Biotic Integrity (VIBI).

Instructor: Michael Liptak 

Dates: June 1-3, 2026

Location: Stone Laboratory, 878 Bayview Drive , Put-in-Bay, OH 43456

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Description: Mosses are small and intriguing plants that occur in nearly all ecosystems, sometimes abundantly so. They are a species-rich group that is often overlooked, even by skilled botanists, because of a need to use magnification to see their identification features. This workshop, geared to educators, botanically oriented amateur naturalists, and natural resource professionals engaged in land stewardship, will teach the hand lens and microscope skills required to key out unknown specimens, as well as enable field- recognition of the most common genera.

Instructor: Dr. Robert Klips 

Dates:  August 14-16, 2026

Location: Stone Laboratory, 878 Bayview Drive , Put-in-Bay, OH 43456

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Description: Hands-on, lecture, laboratory and field workshop to learn collections, identifications, preservations, enumeration, and control techniques and basic ecology of algae. Offered with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Certified Drinking Water and Waste Water Operators contact hours or Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection contact hours. 

Instructors: Dr. Justin Chaffin 

Dates: August 17-18, 2026

Location: Stone Laboratory, 878 Bayview Drive , Put-in-Bay, OH 43456 

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Registration tip: Once you click “CHECKOUT”, you will see a Sign In page with options. Choose “CHECKOUT AS GUEST” to continue.

Description: Hands-on, lecture, laboratory and field workshop to learn collections, identifications, preservations, enumeration, and control techniques and basic ecology of algae. Offered with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Certified Drinking Water and Waste Water Operators contact hours or Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection contact hours. 

Instructors: Dr. Justin Chaffin 

Dates: June 4-5, 2026

Location: Stone Laboratory, 878 Bayview Drive , Put-in-Bay, OH 43456 

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Description: Understanding toxin production by algae and strategies for water professionals to manage toxins and taste/odor issues. Offered with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Certified Drinking Water and Waste Water Operators contact hours or Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection contact hours. Students at least 16 years of age, with an interest in the Great Lakes and aquatic ecosystems. Managers or employees of public water supplies (reservoirs, lakes, and rivers). Federal, state, or city employees charged with monitoring water quality.

Instructors: Richard Lorenz and Heather Raymond

Dates: August 19-20, 2026

Location: Stone Laboratory, 878 Bayview Drive , Put-in-Bay, OH 43456

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Description:  This workshop will introduce students to the broader reality of freshwater crayfish, their diversity, distribution, and general patterns of evolution. It will drill down to the local scale and endeavor to develop the skills needed to identify the local crayfish fauna. Crayfish can comprise an important component of many ecosystems and frequently form a keystone ecosystem component. Students will be introduced to important literature dealing with Astacidae with an emphasis on North America and more specifically Ohio. There are currently approximately 700 species of crayfish worldwide. Over 460 of those species are native to North America. Though diversity is somewhat low in the Ohio region, southern states (south of the Ohio River) harbor high levels of diversity (up to 100 species). Much of the NA fauna has been found to be “in need of conservation attention” and states have begun to focus attention on their rare faunal components. This workshop will endeavor to give students the basic skills needed to explore and understand their local fauna and provide a launching point for future employment or research into crayfish conservation

Instructors: Roger F. Thoma    

Dates: August 24-26, 2026

Location: Stone Laboratory, 878 Bayview Drive , Put-in-Bay, OH 43456

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Description: We will learn how and where to search for spiders. We will observe common behaviors and habits during the day and at night. You will learn what features will help with recognition of spider families in the field. In the lab you will learn techniques for identification of spiders. Participants will learn basic sampling techniques and how to document spider behavior. At the end of this workshop, you will have an enhanced appreciation of these amazing arachnids.

Instructors: Rich Bradley

Dates: August 21-23, 2026

Location: Stone Laboratory, 878 Bayview Drive , Put-in-Bay, OH 43456

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Description: This intensive one‑week workshop provides an applied introduction to water‑quality science. Participants will investigate the causes and impacts of pollution in lakes, rivers, wetlands, and groundwater, while gaining experience with field sampling, laboratory testing, and interpretation of physical, chemical, and biological indicators of water quality. Open to undergraduate students as well as adults looking to expand their skills for personal interest or career advancement, this workshop is offered in person at Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island.

Instructor: Dax Fisher-Garibay

Dates: June 1-7, 2026

Location: Stone Laboratory, 878 Bayview Drive , Put-in-Bay, OH 43456

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Registration tip: Once you click “CHECKOUT”, you will see a Sign In page with options. Choose “CHECKOUT AS GUEST” to continue.

Description:  An intensive, two-day workshop designed to demonstrate the fish-sampling gears most commonly used by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources-Division of Wildlife (ODW) and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) for undergratdute students in seasonal agency work and fisheries biology professions. Stone Lab, ODW, and OEPA biologists provide hands-on experience with fyke nets, gill nets, trawls, and boat-based as well as wading electrofishing methods. Offered over one weekend early in autumn semester. 

Instructors: Eugene Braig, Brian Schmidt (ODNR), and Andrew Phillips (EPA)    

Dates: October 3-4, 2026

Location: Stone Laboratory, 878 Bayview Drive , Put-in-Bay, OH 43456