Things to do in The Oak Openings Activities in the Oak Openings such as volunteer work days at Kitty Todd, Hikes and educational programs by the Toledo Naturalists and of course many activities at the Metroparks are listed under Community Involvement.

The Green Ribbon Initiative is a grass-roots effort to save the Oak Openings Region-a natural community as rare and significant as the rainforest. This globally distinct ecosystem has been designated by the Nature Conservancy, a renowned conservation organization, as "One of the 200 Last Great Places on Earth."

Sadly, this habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate as natural areas within the region are being destroyed by urban sprawl. Of the 84,000 acres in the Oak Openings region, ecologists have identifies 6,000 acres of high-quality greenspace running like a ribbon through the area. We hope to protect this habitat by creating a biological and recreational corridor of preserved land-a "green ribbon" of natural beauty, rare plant and animal species, and quality recreation opportunities stretching across Northwest Ohio and Southeastern Michigan.

Some exciting conferences are coming up this winter that offer rewarding learning experiences. You may even meet some old friends and meet some new ones that share a passion for nature.

The Stewardship Network will be holding its annual conference in Lansing Michigan on January 20^th and 21^st. This year’s conference is “The Science, Practice & Art of Restoring Native Ecosystems”. If you are not familiar with the Stewardship Network you should be. This group brings together both professionals and volunteers working to restore native ecosystems. Registration is now open and for information click http://www.stewardshipnetworkconference.org/site/c.5oJHLSPvFhJUG/b.6297511/k.BD1D/Home.htm

The annual Oak Opening Research Forum will be held on January 28^th at the downtown Toledo Library. Presentations and posters will highlight rare plants, birds, amphibians, ecology and geology. The Keynote speaker for the conference, John O’Meara will speak at the Oak Openings lodge Friday night the 27^th. Registration for both is available at http://reservations.metroparkstoledo.com

The Ohio Division of Wildlife will hold its annual Wildlife Diversity Conference on March 7^th. A very popular conference attended by nearly 1,000 people and often a few other animals is held in Columbus . In addition to the great presentations there are often many quality handouts at exhibitor’s booths. Conference registration opens January 7^th. Check www.wildohio.com for more information.

NEW: Oak Openings Region Model available for Google Earth The Oak Openings Region Model is available free of charge for viewing in Google Earth. The model was developed to identify areas of greatest conservation value in the region as well as those areas where restoration would be the most feasible and have the greatest positive impact on nested target species. [READ MORE]

The Karner Blue is back! Federally endangered Karner Blue butterfly reintroduced into the Oak Openings Region. [READ MORE]

Gardens That Make A Difference Oak Openings Natives Demonstration Gardens Take Root [READ MORE]

Midwest Oak Savanna and Woodland Conference 2009 Thank you to everyone that attended and supported the 2009 Midwest Oak Savanna and Woodland Conference. The abstracts from the conference are listed as a sub page of this web site. Click READ MORE at the end of this paragraph. If you have any comments about the conference or are interested in hosting a future conference please contact us at moswc@bex.net. [READ MORE]

Students help restore Oak Openings Native Plants Restoration in the Oak Openings Region [READ MORE]