Tag: Outreach

Teaching Cherokee Indian Youth about Culturally Important Plants

by Julia Kirschman, Bent Creek Experimental Forest  • 
The U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) recently partnered to develop learning modules for children attending EBCI’s Snowbird Youth Center in Robbinsville, North Carolina. The youth center is part of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cherokee. The plant module is the first learning module developed, and…  More 

Coweeta Hosts Young Scientists’ Presentations

by Randy Fowler, Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory  • 
On November 20, for the second year in a row,  5th grade students from Mountain View Intermediate School in Macon County, North Carolina, visited the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory (Coweeta) in nearby Otto to tour the facilities and learn about some of the exciting research taking place at the outdoor…  More 

Life after Hemlock: Restoring Riparian Forests in the Southern Appalachians

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
In the last decade, the hemlock woolly adelgid, a tiny sap-sucking insect native to Japan, has swept through southern Appalachian forests, leaving dead hemlocks in its wake. Hemlock branches no longer shade streams or tower over shrubs, and their loss has affected streamside, or riparian, forests. “Without hemlock, more sunlight reaches the forest floor,” says U.S.…  More 

New Forest Service/NCSU Partnership Provides Research Experience to Undergraduates

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
A new partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and North Carolina State University’s College of Natural Resources brings undergraduate students from historically black colleges and universities together for a summer research and mentoring program. In summer 2015, three students participated in the program. “This internship helped me broaden my possibilities for the future,” said Rayquan, one…  More 

How the Urban Forest Strike Teams Began

by Excerpted from longer article by Paul Revell, Urban Forestry Coordinator, Virginia Department of Forestry  • 
The Urban Forest Strike Teams (UFSTs) are a means for city foresters, state foresters, commercial arborists, and others to quickly come to the aid of a region whose urban forest has been impacted by a natural disaster. Here’s the backstory.  In 2003, Hurricane Isabel cut a devastating path across Virginia, leaving lots of damaged trees…  More 

Children Discover Native Pollinators at BugFest

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
On September 19, 2015, almost 32,000 kids and adults gathered at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh to celebrate BugFest. The free event featured over 100 bug-related exhibits, crafts, games, and activities, and a number of presentations. The U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station’s (SRS) booth “Buggy About Pollinators” was a big…  More 

Oct. 20 – 22, Fire History in the Appalachians Workshop

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Register now: “Fire History in the Appalachians Workshop and Central Appalachians FLN Workshop” Fire has shaped the ecosystems of the Appalachian Mountains for millennia, and an area’s fire history can guide land managers who use prescribed fire for ecosystem restoration or reducing hazardous fuels. On October 20-22, the Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists…  More 

Fire History in the Appalachians, October 20-22

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Register now: “Fire History in the Appalachians Workshop and Central Appalachians FLN Workshop” Fire has shaped the ecosystems of the Appalachian Mountains for millennia, and an area’s fire history can guide land managers who use prescribed fire for ecosystem restoration or reducing hazardous fuels. On October 20-22, the Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists…  More 

U.S. Forest Service & the University of Texas at San Antonio

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
A recent agreement between the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) will provide funding to support the newly established Educating Youth in Environmental Science Program (EYES). SRS is contributing $24,000 towards the program, which will provide environmental learning opportunities for children in San Antonio, Texas. Ultimately, the…  More 

Webinar This Thursday: Talking to the General Public About Climate Change

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
        On July 23, the Climate Learning Network, which provides audiences of the Southeast Regional Climate Hub (SERCH) and other USDA regional climate hubs with information and technical support, announced its first webinar series. The second talk in the series features U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station research ecologist Steve McNulty, who…  More