Hello everyone,
The response to the Mid-South
Prairie Symposium has been overwhelming.
30 Speakers: We
are now barely 7 weeks away from the Mid-South Prairie Symposium. We have a
full lineup of nearly 30 speakers who will be covering a range
of hot topics related to prairie, barrens, and savanna restoration, management,
biodiversity, and conservation. (https://www.apsu.edu/herbarium/speakers-and-presenters) We
are now seeking individuals who wish to present a poster. We have 30 open slots
for posters and these come on a first-come, first-serve basis.
We are Filling Up Fast: I
know from talking with many of you that you or others from your organization
plan to attend. We are already 40% full so please don't wait
to register as we only have 120 slots remaining for the Symposium.
Field trip to Fort
Campbell nearly full!: The Day 2 field trip to Fort Campbell is nearly
sold-out and we only have an additional 25 slots remaining.
At this point our limit is 75 and we are not sure at this point if this number
can be increased so reserve your slot while you can.
We need folks
to register as soon as possible for three reasons:
1.
we must get all
people cleared by the US Army ahead of time who wish to go on the Fort Campbell
field trip to see the South's largest remaining tall grass prairies. This takes
time and we have to begin the security clearance process as soon as possible.
With 75 people this will very likely take a few weeks so please register now.
2.
hotels are likely
to fill up quickly as several local high schools are graduating the week of the
Symposium and due to the Memorial Day weekend. We checked many hotels last week
and most had plenty of rooms but please do not wait. We recommend the Riverview
Inn in Clarksville but others are listed on our website.
3.
we will soon need
to confirm attendance numbers so we can finalize catering plans and rental of
the charter buses for the field trips. Please get your registrations in asap.
Early registration ends
April 15, after which
registration costs will increase by $25.
Final Date to Register is May 6 is the final date to register and we will not
extend the registration deadline due to the fact that we are working with the
Army to schedule field trips and they need a firm itinerary and field trip
roster by this date and we will have to confirm charter bus rentals a couple of
weeks in advance.
Donations needed: We
are still accepting donations as well and are seeking additional sponsorships
to help us reach our goal of $30,000. We need to raise an additional $8,500 so
please consider helping us reach our goal or connecting to donors who may be
interested in sponsorship. If you would like to sponsor the event with a
donation please go to https://www.apsu.edu/herbarium/donate-symposium.
You can pay with a credit card via our online secure payment system.
Exhibitors/Vendors: We
also have 15 vendor booths. If you are interested in being a vendor or
exhibitor please check our website for details and costs: https://www.apsu.edu/herbarium/exhibitors
Additional Questions? For
full details please go to https://www.apsu.edu/herbarium/purpose-symposium and
see the various links for information on registration, location, agenda, field
trips, sponsors. If you have questions email me or call anytime.
Thank you very much and hope
to see you in May,
Dwayne
- Dwayne
Dwayne Estes, Ph.D.
Biodiversity Explorer & Curator of the Vanderbilt (VDB)
Herbarium for BRIT®
Professor of Biology & Principal Investigator for APSU
Center of Excellence for Field Biology
