By Nettie Baugher, Commercial Horticulture Extension Agent, NC State University
State Extension programs in the southeastern United States collaborated during February and March to create a webinar series for forest landowners. The purpose of this series is to educate the public on forest health and increase awareness and access to forestry resources.
Topics covered include forest ecology, management of both pine and hardwood stands, pest control, and basic wildlife management and concepts. One of the great aspects of these webinars is the expertise of the presenters; they have decades of experience in forestry and come from a variety of backgrounds and regions, including extension services, the USDA Forest Service, universities and an award-winning landowner.
Four live webinar sessions were recorded and delivered through local extension offices, and these sessions are now available online. The links for each webinar are below, and you can find a description of each session here: https://sref.info/woodland-stewards/series.
These sessions are cost-free and open to the public.
Session 1: Getting to know your woodlands
Session 2: Managing your woodlands
http://www.forestrywebinars.net/webinars/woodland-stewards-webinar-series-managing-your-woodlands
Session 3: Identifying and managing woodland threats
Session 4: Wildlife and woodlands
http://www.forestrywebinars.net/webinars/woodland-stewards-webinar-series-wildlife-and-woodlands
Every extension agent’s goal is to provide the local community with access to research-based information. This series is a great example of how research on a regional level is shared with those in our local communities. This programming is designed with the landowner in mind, and it focuses on common challenges faced by you and your neighbors. We hope that providing this resource will improve the economic and environmental sustainability of our local forest lands and lead to greater success and prosperity for both individuals and the communities in which they live.
North Carolina State University Extension is proud to be one of the sponsors for this series; other sponsors are the USDA Northeast Climate Hub, the USDA Forest Service, Southern Regional Extension Forestry and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. I encourage anyone interested in forestry and natural resources to review this series and to share it with your friends and neighbors. You’ll be glad you took the time to do so.