All 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

February 18, 2025

Data Literacy Workshops Help Educators Tell a Story with Schoolyard Data

Image shows Schoolyard Ecology workshop participants sitting at a table.

This winter the Schoolyard Ecology program hosted two data literacy workshops for participating educators, one in Petersham for western and central Massachusetts educators, and one in Cambridge at the Harvard Natural History Museum for eastern Mass folks. The workshop theme was data storytelling: What is the narrative that your Schoolyard Ecology data is telling? Harvard Forest ecologists provided training,

February 13, 2025

Join us Saturday March 8 for Seasonal Traditional Storytelling

Image shows a black gum swamp covered in ice, snow, and water, with sunlight filtering through. By David Foster.

Seasonal Traditional Storytelling at Harvard Forest
March 8th 1:30-3:00 pm
Harvard Forest Fisher Museum
324 N Main St., Petersham, MA 01366
Free and open to all!
Suggested $10 donation

Image shows the text included in this webpage, plus cartoon-style graphics of a bear, foxes, and spring flowers.

Come join our Indigenous Education Specialist

February 10, 2025

Harvard Forest Announces 2025-2026 Charles Bullard Fellows in Forest Research

Image shows 2023-2024 Bullard Fellows in Harvard Forest's Fisher Museum.

The Charles Bullard fellowship program supports advanced research and study by individuals who show promise of making an important contribution to forestry and forest-related subjects including biology, earth sciences, economics, politics, administration, philosophy, humanities, the arts, or law.

Harvard Forest is pleased to announce the upcoming 2025-2026 Charles Bullard Fellows in Forest Research. Over the course of their fellowships, we'll

January 29, 2025

Winter Interns Advance Harvard Forest Research and Education Initiatives

Hailey Akey, Spurty Kamath, Eve Farrell, Sophia Rey, Lana Romanova, and Aditya Bhayana.

In January, Harvard Forest hosted six Harvard University students for Wintersession Internships across a variety of disciplines.

Collectively discussing their work to the Harvard Forest community at a Lab Group on January 22, the interns presented on the research projects listed below.

Research on Environmental Education: Schoolyard Ecology and STEM Identity
Aditya Bhayana; Harvard Kennedy School

“Draw a picture

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