Welcome to Harvard Forest!

This site is packed with info about Harvard Forest's research, education, events, data, & more. We've made some handy guides to explore the website , field researchers, and land stewards/conservationists. Don't see your view? Let us know at hfOutreach@fas.harvard.edu.

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News & Highlights
March 31, 2025

Annual Ecology Symposium Highlights New Initiatives, Strong Research Network

Image shows a researcher explaining figures on a poster. By Ben Goulet-Scott.

On March 18, Harvard Forest hosted its annual research symposium, entitled “Future Directions of Research and Education at the Harvard Forest.” Hosting nearly 100 individuals in person and even more online, this year's event included a variety of presentations that focused on new research projects, recent findings, and strategies towards continuing long-term research in the current funding climate.

Spanning topics both

March 5, 2025

Primetime Documentary Leverages Harvard Forest Expertise

In dappled shade, half a dozen scientists, students, and filmmakers gather around a thin tree core just brought out of the thick tree trunk they are next to.

A new BBC/NBC documentary series, The Americas, recently premiered in the US with a first episode featuring a majestic red oak (Quercus rubra) tree next door to the Harvard Forest. The location was not a coincidence. Producers initially contacted the Forest in 2021 based on past filming work hosted here. They were looking for a

March 3, 2025

New Research from Harvard Forest Reveals How Intense Rainfall Contributes to Future Droughts

Image shows Sam Jurado, principal author, installing research equipment in a forested wetland. By Jackie Matthes.

A new study published in Water Resources Research sheds light on how New England’s soils interact with extreme precipitation, revealing a feedback loop that may contribute to future drought conditions. This research began in 2023 at Harvard Forest as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program and was led by Sam

March 1, 2025

Thompson Lab's Scenario-based Research Informs New EEA Report

Image shows logs on the back of a logging truck on a forested state road. By David Foster.

Over the past two years, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has consulted with researchers in Harvard Forest's Thompson Lab to model forest growth, assess the impacts of anticipated ecological disturbances, and analyze potential land management strategies on forest carbon sequestration and emissions. Released last month, The Forest Carbon Study: The Impact of

February 27, 2025

Short Film to Premiere at Harvard Forest: Views From a Woodlot

Image shows a path through the woods with the words "Views From a Woodlot" in white text. Photographer unknown.

Join us on Thursday, May 8, at 7:00pm for the premiere screening of Views From a Woodlot, a documentary short film by Chris Hardee that profiles longtime forester Bruce Spencer, who stewarded Massachusetts' 100,000-acre Quabbin Reservation for over 40 years. Now retired, Spencer has daily visits to the 150-acre woodlot that he stewards, guided by the same low-impact forest management philosophy

February 24, 2025

New Partnership with Blackstone Watershed Collaborative to Support High School Forestry Program

Image shows Harvard Forest Senior Ecologist Audrey Barker Plotkin, left, showing a map to several students in the forest. By Dave Orwig.

Harvard Forest is excited to partner with the Blackstone Watershed Collaborative (BWC) to provide educational tours as part of their "Building Worcester's Future Foresters: Youth Workforce Development in Urban Forestry" grant. This Rooting Resilience award, granted by River Network but currently under review by the federal government, will allow BWC to partner with Worcester Technical High School in piloting a new

Explore Our Work

IN THE WOODS

Focus on Phenology
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/other-tags/phenology

LONG-TERM STUDIES

85 Acres, 116,000 Trees
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/other-tags/mega-plot

STUDENT PROGRAMS

Winter Opportunities for Harvard Students
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/undergraduate-students

CONSERVATION SCIENCE

Envisioning the Future Landscape
https://harvardforest-prod.ats.cloud.huit.harvard.edu/policy-land-use

JOIN OUR TEAM!

Jobs & Fellowships Open Now
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/employment

Wildlife Cam

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Turkeys with young grazing
Turkey with Young Grazing
Wildlife Trail Cameras at Harvard Forest - Feb/March 2016
Wildlife Trail Cameras at Harvard Forest - Feb/March 2016
Wildlife Trail Cameras at Harvard Forest - February 2016
Wildlife Montage - February 2016
Deer Browsing
Deer Browsing
Raccoon
Raccoon at Night
Young Moose Browsing
Moose Browsing

Webcams

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Below Canopy
Below Canopy
Neon Top of Tower
Neon Top of Tower
Witness Tree
Witness Tree
Hemlock Tower SW
Hemlock Tower SW
Hemlock Tower NE
Hemlock Tower NE
EMS Tower
EMS Tower
EMS Tower 2
EMS Tower 2
Barn Tower
Barn Tower
NEON Bottom of Tower
NEON Bottom of Tower
Harvard Farm North 2
Harvard Farm North 2
Harvard Farm North
Harvard Farm North
Barn Tower 2
Barn Tower 2

Real Time Data

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8. Snowpack
8. Snowpack
3. Wind Speed
3. Wind Speed
6. Wetland Water Level
6. Wetland Water Level
7. Water Temperature
7. Water Temperature
1. Temperature & Humidity
1. Temperature & Humidity
5. Stream Discharge
5. Stream Discharge
2. Radiation
2. Radiation
4. Precipitation
4. Precipitation

Events at Harvard Forest

See a list of our upcoming seminars & events:

Spring Seminar Series

Future Events

Initiatives & Partner Organizations

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