Preserving Oak Diversity with Rod Simmons [via Zoom]
Date/Time
Thursday, September 21, 2023
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Categories
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2274484759
Join Rod Simmons as he reviews how environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional lawn and turf cultivation benefit remnant canopy trees. These alternatives help with tree preservation as well as other native vegetation, soil microorganisms, insects, and pollinators.
Rod will also discuss the great diversity of oaks in Virginia and their importance in the natural landscape. He will present upland native oaks and their natural hybrids, including their identification and sources of digitized, online collections of all oaks and hybrids of our region. We will hear an update on what has been affecting certain upland oak species throughout the region over the last few years, i.e., White and Chestnut oaks, what local species can easily withstand the negative effects of climate change and how maintaining a healthy “lawn”/forest floor can help preserve all our upland canopy trees.
About Rod Simmons
Rod Simmons
Rod is a plant ecologist who has worked extensively in the fields of natural resource management and ecological restoration for over 30 years. He is a member of the Virginia Botanical Associates and works closely with the Virginia and Maryland natural heritage programs. He is also a member and a past president of the Botanical Society of Washington, a past president of the Maryland Native Plant Society, serves on the boards of the Virginia and Maryland native plant societies, and is a regular field trip leader for all of these organizations. Rod is the Natural Resource Manager and Plant Ecologist for the City of Alexandria, Virginia.