Every year, the Land Steward Program at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center holds a one-day conference offering up to 28 classes on subjects of interest to landowners. This year, the Living on Your Land conference partners with Tree School Rogue for a combined offering covering a wealth of timely topics.
The event is held at the Grants Pass Rogue Community College campus and this year will be on Saturday, April 27. While not everything is finalized at this time of printing, what is confirmed should be of interest to anyone caring for a piece of land. Full details will be posted at https://livingonyourland.com. Save the date and stay tuned.
Conference highlights include the fabulous Rich Fairbanks, who will give his popular presentation on 21st-Century Fire Management. Extension Forester Max Bennett teams up with forester Terry Fairbanks to present a class on Adapting Your Forest to Climate Change. Special guest Mike Cloughesy from the Oregon Forest Research Institute provides insight on Forest Watershed Science, backed up by the practical advice of both Jackson and Josephine County Watermasters talking about Water Rights. There will be a Native Plant Walk, a class on Climate Resilience by visiting OSU instructor Andrew Millison, a presentation of Carbon Sequestration, a class on Hugelkultur and more.
Andrew Millison will start the day off at 8:15am with a Keynote Address, which will be followed by a schedule of four class sessions of your choice, the day ending at 5:00pm. The registration fee of $60 covers instruction, class materials and coffee breaks. Lunch is available for an additional $10. Registration by mail and phone opens in early March (no walk-in registration).
Watch for flyers on local bulletin boards and check the website for full details.
Jack Duggan has been a Land Steward since 2010 and an avid promoter of the program ever since. He can be reached at shanachie@hughes.net.