Vermont Urban and Community Forestry
Backyard Woods Program
Do you own less than 25 acres and are interested in learning more about your woods?
Do you want to become a more active steward of your woods?
Then the Backyard Woods Program might be what you are looking for!
The Vermont Backyard Woods Program is a six-week online program that, using a combination of video’s, webinars, discussion forums, and weekly activities, explores the following themes: An Introduction to Your Backyard and Beyond; Getting to Know Your Woods; Backyard Woods Projects; Developing a Backyard Woods Action Plan.
By the end of the program participants will:
- Understand why their backyard woods matter, the benefits it provides, and how it contributes to Vermont’s forest landscape.
- Identify natural history and cultural features in their backyard woods.
- Identify and rank stewardship goals and objectives for their property.
- Develop a stewardship action plan with a project schedule and plan for implementing stewardship activities.
- Increase awareness and connection to resources and organizations available to assist landowners in post-course activities.
Fall 2018 Course
About the Course
- The Backyard Woods Program is designed for homeowners who own between 5 and 25 acres.
- This course is hosted online and is composed of 4 sections. Each section has videos and activities that are to be completed on your own schedule.
- Two live webinars offer participants a chance to ask questions in real time, and recordings will be made available afterwards.
- Additionally, participants will be invited to in-person field walks.
- Check out the Backyard Woods Program topics here.
Schedule & Times
September 24 – November 3
This online course is self-paced and all activities are to be completed on your own schedule during the course, with the exception of the live webinars & walks. The course schedule is intended to keep you on track to complete the course in 6 weeks. This flexibility allows you to complete all activities and watch videos when you have time each week. You can expect to spend 1.5-3 hours each week on the course.
Live webinars
- Sept. 24, 5pm, Forest Ecology with Nancy Patch, Franklin-Grand Isle County Forester, VT Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
- October 24, 5pm, Stewardship Projects with Keith Thompson Stewardship Program Manager with VT Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
Field Walks
- October 13, 9am-12pm, Craftsbury, TBD
- October 20, 9-12pm, Jericho, TBD
- October 20, 9-12pm, Woodstock, TBD
- November 3, 9am-12pm, Franklin County, TBD
Registration
The course costs $30 per family, before September 16, or $40 (on September 17 or afterwards).
Questions?
Gwen Kozlowski, gwen.kozlowski@uvm.edu or 802-651-8343, ext 506.
To request a disability-related accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Gwen Kozlowski, gwen.kozlowski@uvm.edu, at 802-651-8343 or 1-800-571-0668, by September 3, 2018, so we may assist you.
The Vermont Backyard Woods Program is a collaborative effort between UVM Extension, VT Department Forests, Parks and Recreation, Vermont Fish and Wildlife, Vermont Woodlands Association, VT Coverts, and VT Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).