FNR Personnel Set to Educate Hoosier Hardwood Festival Visitors

Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources will be well represented at the Hoosier Hardwood Festival in Marion County, Indiana, this weekend. Several Purdue FNR faculty and staff members will be presenting educational sessions, while the Woods on Wheels exhibit and alumna Sara High will be on site to show Hoosiers the many possibilities of wood and forest management in the state.

Hoosier hardwood festival logo

The Woods on Wheels exhibit will be open during all festival hours.

Educational and other sessions that will be presented by FNR faculty and staff members are:

Friday, Aug. 26

1:30-1:45 p.m. & 3:30-3:45 p.m. Kid’s Entertainment – Wood Magic by Rado Gazo and Eva Haviarova

Location: Woods on Wheels stage

Aimed specifically at elementary school students, Wood Magic is an exciting and innovative program to educate students about the tremendous important of wood and wood products in everyday life. They participate in hands-on experiments such as making plywood and paper, and testing the strength of wood.

2:30-3:15 p.m. Prescribed Burns – Purdue Extension wildlife specialist Jarred Brooke

Location: Family Arts Building

Not all forest fires are bad. Did you know fire can be good for people and the land? After many years of fire exclusion, an ecosystem that needs periodic fire becomes unhealthy. Fires can reduce fuel building, provide forage for game, and improve ecosystems for threatened and endangered species.

4-4:45 p.m. Forest Improvement – Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee

Location: Woods on Wheels Stage

This session is designed to teach landowners about timber stand improvement. TSI increases timber value through: increasing the proportion of valuable timber tree species in a forest stand; increasing the proportion of trees that have good timber form, high quality, and defect-free wood volume; and reducing the time it takes for crop trees to grow to maturity by increasing growth rates.

Saturday, Aug. 27

10:30-10:45 p.m. & 2-2:15 p.m. Kid’s Entertainment – Tree Magic by Rado Gazo and Eva Haviarova

1-1:45 Forest Improvement – Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee

More information on the Hoosier Hardwood Festival is available the event website, including ticketing, a full schedule and exhibitor information.

Featured Stories

Dr. Ted Cable holds a raccoon in his younger years; Cable visits the Taj Mahal in India while working at Kansas State; Cable holds his book Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World.
Meet Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Ted Cable

Dr. Ted Cable, Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources’ 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award...

Read More
High-clearance agricultural sprayer in a field with electrical transmission tower and lines in background
Indiana farmland values hold steady amid regional shifts

Indiana farmland prices remained relatively stable in 2026, according to the latest Purdue...

Read More
Ben carter points to something on a computer to group of three students in a lab classroom, all in white coats. There are chemicals and biological research tools on the lab bench in the foreground.
Biochemistry prepares young undergraduates for graduate school and biotech careers with new molecular genetics course

In a new molecular genetics course, freshman and sophomore biochemistry majors emulate graduate...

Read More
Sherri Reinsch, research associate and hellbender husbandry coordinator gently handles a hellbender in the lab. (Purdue University photo/John Underwood)
Minecraft Meets the Hellbender

The eastern hellbender salamander will never win a wildlife beauty pageant. It’s believed...

Read More
Ozan Citfci stands in Food Science Building.
Food engineering innovator joins Purdue Agriculture

Purdue University’s College of Agriculture is thrilled to welcome Ozan Ciftci, a renowned...

Read More
Ryan Folk in a greenhouse.
Plant evolutionary biologist joins Purdue Agriculture

Ryan Folk, an emerging leader in the world of plant evolutionary biology, has joined...

Read More