This event is for a very distinct subset of Road Trips Gardeners: those of us who relish viewing, restoring and/or maintaining Midwestern prairies.

Ohio Prairie Association will hold its annual Prairie Conference in the Nature Center in Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, 1415 Darby Creek Drive, Galloway, Ohio (map), July 12 and 13, 2013.

Metro Parks has restored more than 1,500 acres of native Darby Plains Prairies at Battelle Darby Creek and Prairie Oaks Metro Parks. In 2011, in partnership with The Wilds, Metro Parks introduced six bison to restored prairies at Battelle Darby Creek.

The conference will include talks on Friday evening and Saturday morning. Field trip options on Saturday include trips to restored prairies in Metro Parks, the Pearl King prairie savanna, and Bigelow and Smith Cemetery prairies.

Admission the conference will be $35 per person (age 13 and older) or $25 (age 12 and under. It includes conference materials, Friday evening snacks, Saturday morning bagels and doughnuts, and a box lunch for the field trips.

Naturalists will offer an interpretive program for kids age 12 and under during the Saturday morning presentations.

(Photo of a bison in Battelle Darby Creek Prairie courtesy of Metro Parks)