Good morning, EPN!   

We are very excited to welcome you to the final EPN Breakfast of the year, next week’s (Tuesday, December 7) Restoring Streams and Wetlands – Whose Job Is It Anyway?

Mary Mertz (Director, Ohio Department of Natural Resources) will join us in-person to provide an update on H2Ohio and other state initiatives to enhance wetlands and stream corridors.

Gail Hesse (Great Lakes Water Program Director, National Wildlife Federation) will then facilitate a very fun, humorous, and professionally relevant! Q&A with wetland ecologist Mark Dilley (Founder and Co-owner, MAD Scientist Associates) and environmental engineer Brian Tornes (Environmental Division Director, Burgess & Niple) on the skills, trainings, and collaborations among and between professional ecologists and engineers to create sustainable wetland and stream restoration projects.  

For in-person guests joining during our 7:15 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. networking session, dozens of Ohio State Senior Capstone students will be on-hand to present their semester-long capstone project work for numerous state and regional partners.

A list of these students, topics, and this year’s organizational “clients”, as well as the link to register for next week’s in-person or virtual programming options, is at https://go.osu.edu/epndec21

Last week, we shared about Building hope in a space and movement where change feels unlikely, a unique EPN interview featuring Michael Charles, Ph.D. (an American Indian scientist from the Navajo Nation, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineer and Sustainability Expert at The Ohio State University) and Callia Téllez (Environmental Policy Fellow, Ohio Environmental Council) regarding Dr. Charles’ experience at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (“COP 26”) as a representative of the Indigenous Caucus.

If you haven’t viewed this conversation, then consider taking a few minutes to review highlights of this conversation or the full length one-hour interview at https://go.osu.edu/BuildingHope

Thanks, and hope you can join us – for breakfast or virtually – next week!

Joe Campbell and Cecil Okotah