Stone Lab workshops to help students, job seekers, professionals gain new skills
Stone Laboratory, The Ohio State University’s island campus on Lake Erie, is offering a variety of two- and three-day workshops in August and October 2026 designed to help students, working professionals, educators, and job seekers gain hands-on experience and professional skills in environmental science and natural resources.
The workshops provide immersive learning opportunities on Gibraltar Island and cover topics ranging from water quality and fisheries science to arthropod biology and plant identification.
“Through Stone Lab’s workshops, anyone can come to Gibraltar Island for two or three days to learn a new skill and grow professionally without enrolling in a college,” said Dr. Chris Winslow, director of Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab, within the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. “Students, recent graduates, natural resources professionals, municipal workers, and more are all welcome to participate in hands-on, immersive learning here.”
Several workshops offer training directly applicable to careers in environmental science, natural resource management, and water quality monitoring.
The Algae Identification Workshop (Aug. 17-18) and Dealing with Cyanobacteria and Emerging Contaminants of Concern (Aug. 19-20) provide water and natural resource professionals with hands-on laboratory and field experience alongside expert instruction. Both workshops offer contact hours for Ohio Environmental Protection Agency-certified drinking water and wastewater operators and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection personnel.
Participants interested in ecology and invertebrate biology can enroll in Understanding Spiders (Aug. 21-23) or Introduction to North America’s Crayfish (Aug. 24-26). Open to individuals ages 16 and older, these workshops provide foundational knowledge and field skills for exploring local fauna and can serve as a stepping stone to future research, conservation, and employment opportunities.
Stone Lab also will offer Moss Identification and Ecology (Aug. 14-16), where educators, amateur naturalists, and natural resource professionals will learn to identify moss specimens using hand lenses and microscopes while developing field-recognition skills for common genera.
For those pursuing careers in fisheries and aquatic resource management, the Fish-Sampling Techniques Workshop (Oct. 3-4) offers practical training developed in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Taught by instructors from ODNR and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the workshop introduces undergraduate students and job seekers to fish-sampling methods and equipment commonly used by resource management agencies.
Applications for all workshops are due two weeks before the workshop start date, and early application is encouraged because enrollment is limited.
A complete list of 2026 workshops can be found at go.osu.edu/SLworkshops.
Ohio Sea Grant is supported by The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, and NOAA Sea Grant, a network of 34 Sea Grant programs nation-wide dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. Stone Laboratory is Ohio State’s island campus on Lake Erie and is the research, education, and outreach facility of Ohio Sea Grant and part of CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources.