Introduction to Missouri Fern Identification and Ecology Workshop
Learn about Missouri’s fascinating fern diversity, with Justin Thomas of the Institute of Botanical Training!
From hard-scrabble desert-like glades to wet foggy Ozark hollers, Missouri is blessed with a fascinating fern diversity. This four-hour course focuses on fern identification, ecology, and appreciation but will also cover their curious reproduction strategies, specialized terminology, and geographical patterns. In short, how do we tell them apart, where do they live, how did they get there, and why do they stay? This course is good for anyone with the slightest interest in plants, on up to fully fledged experts.
Justin Thomas is a field ecologist and field plant taxonomist with 28 years of field experience. He is the cofounder/director of the Institute of Botanical Training where he conducts taxonomic and ecological research with nearly all Missouri’s state, federal, and private conservation organizations. He also teaches plant ecology and ID workshops throughout the Midwestern and eastern US. He is the co-author of the Ecological Checklist of the Missouri Flora (C-values), is a research associate with Missouri Botanical Garden, is a part-time professor at University of Missouri of Science and Technology and serves as a scientific advisor to several conservation organizations. Justin promotes a holistic view of living systems from which we can better understand ourselves and the worlds in which we live.
Capacity is limited. Click here to register now.
Cost: $25
Lunch from a local caterer will be provided. Please email Erika Van Vranken (erika@moprairie.org) at the time you register if you have specific dietary needs.
NOTE: Advanced registration and payment is required by April 30, 2025. Payment for registration is due by the registration deadline. Cancellations received after April 30 cannot be refunded.
Information about workshop logistics, including parking, will be shared with registrants.
Hosted by Lincoln University Cooperative Extension Specialty Crops/Native Plants Program and led by Justin Thomas, this workshop is part of the “Growing Native Ferns as Specialty Crops in Missouri” grant to the Specialty Crops Program at Lincoln University Cooperative Extension, administered by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Funding for ‘Growing Native Ferns as Specialty Crops in Missouri’ was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM22SCBPMO1152.