Blog and News

Laurie Dirkx grew up a few minutes’ drive from the city of Rochester, New York, and has always been drawn to the quiet of the natural world and to animals – both wild and domestic.…

Amara Ifeji has a unique perspective on the outdoors and environmental education – and the importance of access to those arenas. She is a first-generation American, a Mainer, and…

Charley Eiseman grew up in central Massachusetts, surrounded by woods, with a small pond nearby. He credits that setting, and his mother’s long involvement in conservation work, for his…

Writers in the Woods, a companion series to our Community Voices interviews, focuses on authors and artists whose work relates to the forests of the Northeast. For the first interview in the…

Growing up in Stamford, Connecticut, Lisa Sausville reveled in trips to her family’s retreat near a working dairy farm once owned by her great-grandparents in a rural part of the state.…

A child of the Midwest, Robert “Thor” Thorson loved the lakes and forests of that region from an early age. Although he started his career as a geologist in Alaska – with a…

Ecologist Rick Van de Poll’s interests in the forest are as varied as the species that live there. He is a mycologist and a wetlands scientist, a teacher and a mountaineer, a poet and a…

We were excited to learn recently that the New Hampshire chapter of Project Learning Tree (PLT) is receiving new support, thanks in large part to the New Hampshire Timberland Owners…

Vermont born and raised, Zarabeth Duell grew up hiking and camping around the state – activities she has continued with her now-teenaged children. A structural engineer by training, she…

Brett Chedzoy has worked as a forester for the past 30 years. His work – and his interests – bridge forestry and agriculture. A forester with the Cornell Cooperative Extension…

As the child of a military family, Janel Lawton moved often as a kid, including stints in Key West, Florida, rural Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and urban New Jersey. She opted to attend college in…

About 11 years ago, Rebecca McCabe began volunteering at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, Pennsylvania, as a college biology student. After completing her studies, then earning a…

Sam Cox has always been drawn to the woods near his family’s large grain farm. When the 17-year-old is not completing school work, competing with his robotics team, or helping on the…

Kirk Gentalen grew up in New Jersey, within sight of New York City. Since leaving home to attend college in California, he’s lived in several states, working as an environmental educator…

Growing up in the Bay Area in California, Dallas Huggins had “minimal exposure” to the natural world. She started hiking as a teenager, but really dove into exploring the outdoors…

Nancy Patch knew from a young age that she wanted to be a forester. Her work in the field has spanned four decades – including two years in Argentina with the PeaceCorps. But she’s…

Erica Holm grew up in what she describes as a typical suburban neighborhood in southern New Hampshire. Although she wasn’t a particularly outdoorsy kid, she pursued a degree in natural…

Mike Parisio has always been fascinated by the natural world. After earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental science, he pursued a master’s degree – and, eventually, a…

Bill Reid’s interests range from history and natural resources to paddling and hiking, so he seems perfectly matched to his role as the Chief Ranger for The Last Green Valley National…

Hilda White has always loved flowers – and the sciences. In 1951, she graduated from Cornell University with a degree in chemistry. For the next 45 years, she worked in a variety of lab…