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October 21, 2015

Study: Adirondack Sugar Maples in Decline

Trees showing fall foliage and a blue sky in the background.

Sugar maples across the Adirondack Mountains are in significant and surprising decline, according to a study published today in the journal Ecosphere.

Harvard Forest research assistant Dan Bishop analyzed the growth rings of hundreds of sugar maples during his time as a graduate student at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. His work built on an earlier study

October 9, 2015

New Study: Herbarium Records Deepen Climate Research

Herbarium specimens

A new study published today in the American Journal of Botany highlights the remarkable value of archived plant specimens in our understanding of seasonal and climate change.

The research team, which included HF Senior Ecologist Aaron Ellison, evaluated 20 plant species in Massachusetts, meticulously estimating first-flowering dates in herbarium specimens dating back to 1852. They found that their herbarium-based

September 20, 2015

Op-Ed Focuses on Global Species Loss

Quaker Moth

To focus on climate change as the only key issue of the Pope's encyclical is to miss the broader picture, says an op-ed in today's Seattle Times, penned by HF Senior Ecologist Aaron Ellison and Harvard University Herbaria Director Charles Davis. A second and equally important cornerstone of the document, which the authors call "revolutionary," is

September 17, 2015

Teachers Explore Ecology at Summer Workshop

A group of teacher looking up at the trees above them

Twenty-seven teachers from around New England came to the Forest to learn ecological field methods during the Schoolyard Summer Institute this August, part of the Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Program.

These teachers will lead their 4th to 12th-grade students in ecological field studies at their schools this fall, collecting long-term data to analyze back in the classroom.

Field topics include climate and

September 17, 2015

Bullard Spotlight: David Kittredge and Forest Management Decision-making

Logs being loaded for transportation

Dave Kittredge, a Harvard Forest Bullard Fellow this year, brings experience in forestry, coupled with social science research background, to contribute to an improved understanding of humans in forest landscapes, specifically from the standpoint of forest management, harvesting, and ownership.

Kittredge serves on the faculty in the Department of Environmental Conservation at UMass Amherst, and co-directs the Family Forest Research

June 30, 2015

Registration Open: Schoolyard Summer Institute for Teachers

A group of people on a field walk led by Harvard Forest ecologist

The 12th annual Schoolyard Ecology Summer Institute for Teachers will be held at Harvard Forest on Thursday, August 20. All teachers of grades 4-12 are welcome to register. 

Through field walks and presentations led by Harvard Forest ecologists, attendees will learn how to implement field studies of local ecosystems, invasive species, and/or global climate change with their students in their own schoolyards. The

June 8, 2015

2015-2016 Charles Bullard Fellows Announced

A river flowing through the woods

We are pleased to announce the Harvard Forest Charles Bullard Fellows for 2015-2016. The mission of the Charles Bullard Fellowship Program 

June 2, 2015

Study: Diverse Soil Community Key to Climate Protection

Harvard Forest soil warming research plots

As soil microorganisms decompose plant and animal material, globally, they release 10 times more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than humans do. A warming climate and increased nitrogen pollution accelerate this process, triggering the release of even more greenhouse gases. New results from the Forest's long-term soil warming experiment, published last week in the Proceedings of the National

June 2, 2015

Film Shows the Story of Climate Change, Told By One Tree

Witness Tree by Lynda Mapes

During her Bullard Fellowship at the Forest, journalist Lynda Mapes has been taking a long look at a single tree: a tagged, tracked, 100-year-old red oak. A new short film by Patrick Wellever and colleagues from the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT highlights

June 1, 2015

HF Schoolyard Ecology Teachers Earn Top Honors

Winner of the Overlook Award

For over a decade, K-12 teachers in the Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology Program have been working with scientists to incorporate hands-on field science into their classrooms. This year, two of our 72 active teachers were honored at the Massachusetts State House for excellence in environmental education.

Teacher Joann Mossman was one of only six teachers in the state to win "First

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