Tag: Outreach

Diversity among foresters

by Sam Lambert, SRS Forest Inventory and Analysis  • 
Currently, the USDA Forest Service operates 24 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers all over the country—with 11 in the South—to provide training and education for young people. The Job Corps mission is to help young people ages 16 through 24 improve their lives through vocational and academic training aimed at gainful employment and career pathways.…  More 

Taking students to the fireline

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Over 50 students at Clemson University have participated in the Fire Tigers Program. The program starts with a week of classes. Students who like the classes can keep going – they can take saw and pump classes and help conduct prescribed fires on nearby national forests. Some students work on wildfires and become certified wildland…  More 

Significant Trees of the Eastern Cherokee

by John Schelhas, Research Forester, Southern Research Station  • 
A partnership between the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station has led to the development of a new educational module for Cherokee youth. The module is centered on seven significant trees of the Eastern Cherokee and connects these trees to Cherokee culture and forest management. The tree…  More 

Student to Teacher

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
In Nacogdoches, Texas, a USDA Forest Service office is located on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA). When not in the field, it’s where research wildlife biologist Dan Saenz works. Saenz works closely with SFA professors. As a guest lecturer in 2007, he met Erin Childress, who was an undergraduate student at…  More 

Snorkel Education Program

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
A watery world lies next to ours, and it’s inhabited by fish, mussels, and aquatic plants and insects. Snorkeling is a way to visit this realm. “Snorkeling is how managers and researchers have done fish surveys for decades,” says Craig Roghair, a USDA Forest Service fisheries biologist. From these surveys, a snorkel education program emerged.…  More 

Celebrating National Pollinator Week

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
On June 19, 2018, more than 50 people gathered in Asheville, North Carolina to experience pollinators and native plants. They were celebrating National Pollinator Week. Buncombe County Extension Master Gardeners and the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station organized the event. Asheville GreenWorks, Bee City USA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many others…  More 

Southern Roots in New York

by John Schelhas, Research Forester  • 
Urban-rural connections are quite important for land and forest management in the South. From the early 1900s to about 1970, many African Americans migrated from southern farms to industrializing northern cities, and since then many have returned to their homelands. As a USDA Forest Service researcher, I’ve studied African American forest landownership since 1999. I…  More 

SRS Shares Science at BugFest

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
On September 17, more than 35,000 insect enthusiasts gathered at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, NC. U.S. Forest Service employees were among them. As in years past, the Southern Research Station had a table at BugFest. Hundreds of children and adults stopped by to learn about SRS research and to see…  More 

Montford Community Center Visits SRS Pollinator Garden

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
On July 21st, the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station hosted 36 children between the ages of 5 and 11. The children attend summer camp at the Montford Community Center in Asheville, NC. It was already hot at 10 a.m. when the kids hopped off the bus. Jason Anderson gave a short safety talk and…  More 

BioBlitz in Macon County

by Stephanie Laseter, R8-SRS Liaison  • 
On May 25th, fourth graders from South Macon Elementary School in Macon County, North Carolina, went beyond the playground to tally species right in their own school grounds. The BioBlitz was organized by Jason Love, site manager for the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, and Jennifer Love, Macon County STEM coordinator, with help…  More