The Owen Sound Field Naturalists (OSFN) will kick off their 35th year of operation with two January speaker events – first a Tree Talk on January 11, by Susan McGowan, presenting An update on the use of parasitic wasps in control of Emerald Ash Borer in Ontario.
The Emerald Ash Borer, which was discovered in Canada in 2002, is a devastating invasive beetle which has killed tens of millions of ash trees across Canada and the United States. McGowan will give an overview of the introduced biological control programme carried out in an effort to control Emerald Ash Borer in Ontario, including our own local site at the West Rocks Management Area, in Owen Sound. in Ontario, in Owen Sound on Grey Sauble Conservation Authority property. She will also describe the challenge of handling fragile live insects in the summer season as a field technician.
McGowan has worked in forestry and forest health since 2000, and retired in 2020 as a Provincial Forest Health Specialist from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. She volunteered to continue with the release program in 2021 in Owen Sound.
This presentation will take place at OSFN’s Indoor Meeting, 7pm Thursday January 11, 2024 at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. Attendees are encouraged to arrive closer to 6:30pm for a relaxed social time with fellow naturalists, and an opportunity to peruse the OSFN publications on hand.
Everyone is welcome and admission is free or by donation.
It is planned to also offer the event on Zoom, so anyone interested in receiving a Zoom link is asked to email, in advance, to web@osfn.ca with Ash Trees in the subject line.
The second OSFN speaker event will be a Tick Talk, Lyme Disease 101, presented on Zoom only, at 7pm January 25, by Dr. Anne Uings.
This important topic will address these four statements: 1- Absolute numbers of ticks are increasing, 2- The percentage of ticks carrying Lyme is increasing.3- Ticks are being dispersed to new areas by mammals and migratory birds. 4- The percentage of ticks carrying serious Co-infections is increasing.
Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection that can be transmitted by ticks. If it is not detected and treated early, Lyme Disease can cause long term illness and profound debilitation. Anne Uings is a retired medical doctor who has been living with Lyme Disease and other tick-borne infections for 30 years. She has spent the last 20 years learning about Lyme, was a volunteer with the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation for several years, is one of the founders of the Bay of Quinte Lyme Disease Support Group, and is a member of ILADS, which is an organization for Medical professionals involved in researching, treating and teaching about Lyme and related diseases. This will be available only via Zoom, for which a link will be emailed to OSFN members, and to anyone else interested in receiving a Zoom link, who emails, in advance, to web@osfn.ca with Ticks in the subject line.
