This four-part virtual workshop series features 16 different speakers representing a wide variety of perspectives around balanced land use. The initial impetus for the workshop was to catalyze actions coming out of the two-year Wayne County comprehensive planning process. The plan identified goals for balanced land use and managed growth in Wayne County. Bringing in new partners to identify voluntary approaches to manage growth would be critical for the plan to succeed. Those invited to the conversation include individuals associated with local or state government, nonprofits, academia, economic-development organizations, businesses, community leaders and landowners.

The steering committee that organized the workshop consisted of Wayne County Farm Bureau; OSU Extension; OSU College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC); Wayne County Planning; and Sustainable Economies Consulting LLC.

The goal of the workshop was to inspire new connections between agriculture and economic development, housing, trails and recreation, open space, and quality of life. Partial funding came from a grant from OSU’s Initiative for Food and AgriCultural Transformation, a Discovery Themes program. For more information visit www.discovery.osu.edu/infact.

While initially envisioned as an in-person workshop, the steering committee pivoted in March when the pandemic hit and re-designed the workshop as a virtual brown bag series. An addition with the switch to virtual is all registrants were given the option to pick up a complimentary lunch from Local Roots Market and Café in Wooster, OH. David Kelly of Hummavore was selected to be the caterer for the Land Use Actions seminar series. The fact some of the workshop funding can pay a small-scale entrepreneur who is trying to expand their business also serves as a mini-boost to the economy.