Blog and News

Like many Vermonters, Hayden Lake spent a lot of time in the woods while he was growing up. Those experiences eventually led to a career as a consulting forester. Last year he took a break…

Joe and Lisa McSwain are of an age when they might think of retiring, but a life of leisure doesn’t appeal to them. A few years ago, they sold the steeplejack company they’d run…

Steve Denette has rock climbed in Yosemite, sea kayaked along the coast of Maine and canoed the state’s inland lakes and rivers, and completed countless traverses in the White Mountains…

In the midst of the pandemic, Deana Tempest Thomas left her work in healthcare, purchased her childhood home in North Scituate, Rhode Island, and hatched a plan to create a small farm there.…

Walt Cottrell has worked as a wildlife biologist, a domestic animal veterinarian, and since 2005 as a wildlife veterinarian in various locations around the Northeast. Although much of his…

Born in Newport, Vermont, raised in Irasburg, and having lived much of her adult life in Albany, Colleen Goodridge considers herself “a product of the Kingdom.” For the…

Bill Novacek’s first job out of high school was at a sawmill in the Berkshires. In 1981, he moved north to Coos County in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where his connection to…

Jen Plowden grew up in the open spaces of western Maine, along its border with New Hampshire. She helped her father log with horses, explored the fields and forests with her siblings, and…

Michael Wojtech remembers being enthralled by the natural world from a young age. But it wasn’t until well into adulthood that he became fascinated, in particular, by trees. A decade…

In 2018, Lindsay Ware decided to combine two of her interests – conservation biology and dog training – to found Science Dogs of New England. What started as an interest in helping…

Al Robertson’s love of forests began in Germany, where he lived for several years after college. He purchased 60 acres of land in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom in 1979 and has spent…

Megan Woods is the coordinator for the New Hampshire Becoming an Outdoors Woman program, helping to introduce women to various outdoor pursuits – from hiking to hunting – and hone…

Lynn Levine grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where she attended Midwood High School, then Brooklyn College. At the latter, she earned a degree in childhood education, because, she said, there…

Northern Woodlands Poet-in-Residence, Percy deMutt, recently surveyed our readers for inspiration for a series of short poems. Behold, his fine works: Inspired by: Oliver, age 12 Oliver, age…

Tom Ryan has been a forester with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) since 2003. He recently shifted from service forestry – working with private…

When Jackie Robidoux retired recently from a career in nursing, she turned her attention from taking care of people to taking care of animals. She’s long enjoyed photographing wildlife…

When Elsa Goebel-Bain was 11 years old, her family moved from Springfield, Illinois, to Winthrop, Maine. That move opened a world of outdoor recreation opportunities. Inspired by her…

Mike Cherim has loved hiking for as long as he can remember. He started early, ascending mountains in a pack on his father’s back until he was big enough to hike on his own. After a…

Brett Butler pursued a career in forestry because he loves being in the woods, but during a research trip in college, he started to realize that forestry is as much about people as it is about…

A self-proclaimed “tree geek,” Joanne Garton is the technical assistance coordinator for Vermont Urban & Community Forestry, a role that has her traveling the state to…