“Preserving Gates Mills”: Uniting for Land, Water and Tree Preservation

Gates Mills Environmental Education Center 390 County Line Road Gates Mills, Ohio 44040 (map)

Join us for an educational seminar hosted by Gates Mills Land Conservancy & Gates Mills Environmental Education Center.

Free with your R.S.V.P. Email us at gmlc44040@gmail.com.

Our Speakers

Roy Larick has worked on four continents, and brings an archaeological perspective for comprehending local lands and waters. In 2009, he founded Bluestone Conservation to advocate for Cleveland's small watersheds and landforms. In 2014, Bluestone joined the Central Lake Erie Basin watershed organizations working to restore natural areas. In 2017, Bluestone became a Watershed Partner with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District to restore buried stream features. Dr. Larick has led an inventory and archive of the Moses Cleaveland Trees for the Early Settlers Association of the Western Reserve, which provides a window onto the native forest of Cuyahoga County during the late 1700s.
Dr. Larick will summarize the geological evolution of the Chagrin Valley, focusing on the advance and retreat of the last glacier, 23,000 to 11,000 years ago. He will also address the evolution of the native forest as represented by the 296 Moses Cleaveland Trees designated in Cuyahoga County, 1946-1986.

Chad has an Associate and Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture; and a Master's degree in Natural Resource Management from the University of Idaho. He has worked across the country as an arborist and urban forester. Chad’s interests are in arboriculture and urban forestry, with special interest in the tree care industry. He is a Board-Certified Master Arborist, Registered Consulting Arborist, Municipal Specialist, Tree Risk Assessment Qualified with the ISA, and a Licensed Commercial Applicator with the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Chad will focus on tree care, best practices and threats to our urban forest. Specific focus on good arboriculture and scientific research to support pest and disease management towards long term tree preservation.

Heather Elmer joined Chagrin River Watershed Partners as Executive Director in 2014. Heather works with CRWP’s team, members, and a wide range of partners to plan, secure funding for, and execute complex projects to protect natural resources, solve environmental problems and enhance parks. She creates strategic organizational alliances, including the Central Lake Erie Basin Collaborative, a network of organizations working together for healthy streams and Lake Erie. Heather previously led environmental education and collaborative research at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve and managed a wetland wastewater treatment system at Oberlin College’s Lewis Center for Environmental Studies. Heather earned a master’s degree in Bioethics from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and English from Oberlin College with High Honors in Biology. Heather has presented at numerous conferences including the Coastal Zone Conference, National Adaptation Forum, and Ohio Stormwater Conference. She is a member of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Chagrin Scenic River Advisory Council and chair of the Oberlin Public Utilities Commission.

Heather will discuss how communities, partners, and landowners can work together to protect the Chagrin River Watershed – including best management practices that can be taken at the individual landowner level or at the community level.

Gates Mills Land Conservancy - “Welcome”
Environmental Education Center - “Excel TECC Introduction”
“The Geological Evolution of the Chagrin Valley and the Native Forest”
“Good Arboriculture and Disease Management for Tree Preservation”
“Protecting the Chagrin River Watershed & Best Practices for the Local Community”
Gates Mills Library lending table – books and activities on the environment.
Student led tours of the facility, 40-acre site and half mile prairie garden trail.
Children are welcome! Sign up for the Children’s Environmental Program with Excel TECC instructor-led environmental activities.