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Our Cultural Resource specialists can help you manage the risk of impacting important historic or archaeological places.

Plant Identification Workshop – Hastings, MI

 

 

When: August 19-21, 2019. 9:00am – 5:00pm.
Where: Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, Hastings, Michigan
Instructor: Brad Slaughter

Orbis Environmental Consulting botanist Brad Slaughter is leading a three-day plant identification workshop in Hastings, Michigan on August 19-21, 2019. The course will run from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EDT each day with opportunities for informal study in the evening. The focus of the workshop will be general plant identification, with an emphasis on wetland vegetation.

The workshop will take place entirely in the field at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute in Hastings. We will visit various wetland and upland habitats, including oak-hickory and beech-maple forests; swamp forests, shrub-carr, and wet meadow; emergent and submergent marsh; old fields and prairie plantings..

 

Registration Includes –

Lodging (single occupancy) on August 18, 19, and 20.

Meals and snacks (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks on August 19 and 20 and breakfast, lunch, and one snack on August 21).

 

Participants should dress for wet/muddy field conditions and bring:

  • Pencil
  • Hand lens
  • Small ruler
  • Notebook
  • Camera
  • Plenty of water
  • Sunscreen and insect repellent
  • Sturdy footwear that can get muddy (knee boots recommended)
  • Stool or folding chair (optional)
  • Field guide(s) of choice (optional)

 

 

Here’s what others have said about our workshops.

“Really enjoyed the instructor and the fact that he made a daunting topic manageable!”

 

“Instructor had vast knowledge of the subject and was able to communicate very effectively ways to identify plants to those with less experience as well to those with more experience. I also appreciated being able to collect samples for future reference. Very helpful! Overall really enjoyed the class and would definitely participate in another offered by Orbis.”

 

To Register: 

Fee: $1100 – all inclusive as described above

Space is limited to 20 participants. To register, contact Brad Slaughter at bslaughter@orbisec.com or (574) 334-1286.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Instructor

Brad Slaughter – Brad has 14 years of experience managing projects and conducting biological surveys, specializing in floristic inventories, rare plant surveys, vegetation monitoring, and the identification, delineation, and evaluation of remnant plant communities. He has expertise in the classification and description of plant communities and is coauthor of A Field Guide to the Natural Communities of Michigan.

Brad serves on the Michigan Rare Plant Technical Advisory Committee and oversaw the currency, dissemination, and curation of rare plant element occurrence data in Michigan’s Natural Heritage Database prior to joining Orbis. He also coauthored the most recent iteration of Michigan’s Floristic Quality Assessment. In addition to his extensive writings, Brad regularly delivers presentations and field trips for a variety of audiences..

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J Ryan Duddleson​

Senior Archaeologist, Principal

Ryan is a founding member of Orbis and directs its cultural resource management services, and brings over 20 years’ experience helping clients assess and minimize the risk of impacting places with cultural value.


Ryan works with public sector clients including federal, state, and municipal government, as well as private firms in energy, transportation, industrial, and development sectors. He also coordinates with agencies and consulting parties involved with the National Environmental Policy Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and other related cultural resource laws and regulations. He performs archival research, analysis, and excavation. Ryan also has experience in artifact and archival curation. He has applied innovative techniques to traditional artifact analysis, such as examining organic residues from prehistoric pottery to determine prior contents. Ryan also has experience with human remains in archaeological settings. Ryan meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, 48 FR. 44716 and is a Qualified Professional Archaeologist in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.