Ohio State will host the EcoSummit, “the environmental equivalent of getting the Olympics,” said Jerry Tinianow, director of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission is organizing the international ecology conference, or EcoSummit, which will focus on restoring the environment.
One of the conference’s other organizers is William Mitsch, director of the Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park and an environmental resources professor at OSU.
In fact, Mitsch was one of the ecology journal editors who organized the first International EcoSummit in 1996.
The group organized the conference series to promote the use of the natural and social sciences in policy-making.
The upcoming conference will be the fourth in the series. At the previous conference in Beijing in 2007, nearly 1,400 environmental scientists from 70 countries met.
But this fourth conference will take the series in a new direction.
“We’re going to have a ‘fix the planet’ theme as opposed to a ‘study the planet’ theme,” Mitsch said.
Li Zhang, the Wetland Research Park’s assistant director, echoed Mitsch’s remarks.
“The environment has become a big issue,” Zhang said. “We hope to combine engineering and ecology to fix problems.”
The summit will include a week of presentations in addition to environmental displays such as stormwater gardens, solar energy displays and stream and river restorations.
Trips to areas of ecological restoration, such as the Florida Everglades, are arranged for before and after the conference.
Mitsch announced details of the conference, which will take place from Sept. 30, 2012 to May 5, 2012, at a Moonlight on the Marsh event at the Wetland Research Park.
Mitsch sees his work at the park as related to the theme of the conference.
Wetlands are important because of their functions in cleaning and retaining water, preventing floods and providing a habitat and food source for a wide variety of species.
The park studies how wetlands function so that creating and restoring these ecosystems becomes possible.
The Wetland Research Park has been designated a Wetland of International Importance.
“Located in a state that has seen more than 90 percent of its historic wetland base drained, the site contains riverine marshes that were once typical but are now rare,” said Dale Hall, director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The site is also important for its significant wetland ecotourism and outreach within an urban community where few wetlands remain.”
As part of this outreach, the park has many events open to the community. The park gives tours, hosts educational talks and offers classes through the university.
Those who want a more hands-on experience can volunteer at the park.
OSU students and local citizens help out by sampling water, watching birds and planting vegetation.
Students often volunteer for job experience, Zhang said, but others volunteer because they enjoy helping the park.
