Category: Events & Activities

Last week, July 18-21, 2023, 17 teachers from across New Hampshire met in Pittsburg as part of the 2023 Forests of N.H. Teacher Tour. This annual 4-day professional development “boot camp” provides environmental educators an in-depth look into the world of forestry, forest management, timberland ownership, forest products manufacturing and careers within the industry. Educators got to see and experience all facets of the industry while discussing contemporary issues around forests, forestry and land management such as carbon, timber, recreation, and wildlife management.

This event was made possible with generous support from Project Learning Tree, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Adelard A. and Valeda Lea Roy Foundation, and Wal Mart.  

Seventeen teachers from across the state participate in “The Forests of NH Teacher Tour” in Pittsburg, N.H. Teachers learn about carbon storage in trees, and forest soils.   This year’s teacher tour is made possible with financial support from the NH Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Project Learning Tree, Adelard A. and Valeda Lea Roy Foundation, and Wal-Mart.

The “Forests of New Hampshire Teacher Tour” is an annual four-day professional developent opportunity for science and environmental education teachers. Over four days teachers will tour tree farms, forestry operations, and wood processing facilities, while learning about the Project Learning Tree environmental curriculum. For more information go to www.nhplt.org.

In the steamy heat of the third week of July, fourteen educators from northern New England and Massachusetts got an introduction to the world of forest-products. They visited two tree farms, an active timber harvest, a sawmill, and a modern wood-heating system. These teachers went to school too: at the UNH educational sawmill and the USDA Forest Service facility. This was an immersive experience to which many experts contributed.

Presentations on the first afternoon varied from poetry and “forest bathing” with Prof. Mary Ann McGarry of Plymouth State University to an analysis of the carbon cycle with Matt Kelly of UNH Cooperative Extension.

On the second day, these 14 teachers went to Durham to hear about invasive species, vernal pools, and the role of forests in global carbon management from UNH staff Mike Simmons and Steve Eisenhaure. Their visit to the pollinator gardens and the GLOBE soil tent was stewarded by USDA staff Angie Hammond and Haley Wiklein. At Brentwood they were hosted by Jude Gates, the director of the Rockingham County wood-heat facility. Finally, owner Jerry Langdon showed them around his Twin Pines Tree Farm in Epping with Greg Jordan of UNH Cooperative Extension.

The third day was just as rigorous and diverse. They began at HHP sawmill in Henniker with HHP staff George Davenport and Christine Pefine, and then got outside again for another tree farm tour, this time with Tom and Ginny Chrisenton of High Ridge Tree Farm in Lyndeborough. They stayed in the fresh (but warm) air to walk through the timber harvest in Hollis at Beaver Brook with natural resources manager Brandon Rackcliff and logger Dick Hazen.

It was a lot to take in and the teachers spent their final morning translating what they had learned into curriculum plans using Project Learning Tree and assembling final presentations.

The teachers’ home for three nights was the Bear Hill cabins at Beaver Brook State Park, where they enjoyed several meals and even a night of live music from the Green Heron Band.

NHTOA received considerable help in the planning, funding, and execution of this event from Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s (SFI) NH Committee; A.V. Roy Foundation; UNH Thompson School; UNH Cooperative Extension; an SFI Education grant; Project Learning Tree; N.H. Division of Forest and Lands; and the U.S. Forest Service.

Direct questions to:

New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association (NHTOA)

54 Portsmouth Street

Concord, NH 03301

(603) 224-9699

info@nhtoa.org