See the Forest®

What Participants Said About See the Forest

Offering See the Forest To Communities

What is See the Forest?

See the Forest is a training program in five modules designed by Yellow Wood Associates, Inc., a small consulting firm based in St. Albans, Vermont, in cooperation with conservation commissions from two Vermont communities. The program is unique in its approach. This may be the only community forestry education program in the U.S. which integrates experiential learning about forest science and economics with practical tools for guiding local decision-making. In addition, See the Forest features activities and experiences to engage community members of all ages and perspectives in reflecting about the social, environmental, and economic values and functions of forests within their community. The program is non-prescriptive: Participants are encouraged to explore forests as environmental, social, and economic assets and to determine the most effective actions based upon local interest and priorities.

See the Forest includes five workshop modules. Each workshop module has three components - forest facts and concepts, community building practices, and a field session to provide on-the-ground experience in the woods. Field sessions are led by forest professionals. The workshop design provides a framework for continuously measuring progress toward community goals.

1. Understanding Your Forest Resource includes readings and discussion about forest health, public and private forest functions, and individual and community values related to forests. This session encourages participants to reflect upon their own values and experiences related to the forest and to recognize the diversity of perspectives within their community. In the field, participants practice a tool to monitor forest health.

2. Understanding Your Forest Economy invites participants to consider income, employment, and tax implications of the forest resources in their communities. Readings offer basic economic concepts and case studies featuring ways to add value locally. Participants inventory forest-based economic activities in their community and receive field experience conducting forest inventories based upon different forest values such as recreation, timber, and non-timber forest products.

3. Understanding Institutional Relationships provides a source book of information to assist community groups in developing the relationships necessary to achieve their goals in relation to the forest resource. Topics covered include local, state, and federal regulatory frameworks and planning processes; legal framework in relation to forests and forest landownership; state, local, and federal tax law in relation to forest land; and sources of technical and financial assistance. The field session for this module focuses on forest management and the way different forest management decisions and strategies play out in the woods.

4. Identifying Opportunities for Forest Stewardship and Economic Development provides participants with a wide range of case studies of community-based stewardship and development efforts. Activities and field sessions for the last two modules are designed in collaboration with participants to provide information and resources tailored to goals and issues identified during the first three sessions. Participants integrate community values and goals developed and honed over the first three sessions and begin developing action plans.

5. Integrating Forest Resource Use and Protection Into Community and Economic Development Planning is designed in collaboration with participants to provide them with the skills and information they need to develop and maintain connections with other community and economic development initiatives in order to integrate the forest sector into local planning and development strategies on a long-term basis.

What Participants Said About See the Forest

"So often we make decisions on very little information. The field experience is very important: It makes things REAL."

"I like these workshops because they make me think; and I don’t often get a chance to stop and think about the forest."

"I like the discussion about public and private goods from the forest. Keep this in our faces!"

"My view of my own woodland has been expanded. I’ve never looked at the woods as a potential source of profit before."

"It was fun!"

Offering See the Forest To Communities

Research and materials development for See the Forest were funded, in part, by a grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. With our Phase II SBIR grant, we were able to customize the program materials for use in 5-6 additional states and for additional Vermont communities. We are now offering See the Forest to any interested communities.

The target audience for See the Forest is communities interested in exploring forests as social, environmental and economic assets in a multigenerational setting. The program is designed to be offered to participants from up to three communities at once. This reduces cost per community and provides opportunities for communities to work together and learn from each other.

Other organizations would make ideal See the Forest partners. A partner handles the administration and logistical arrangements for the program at the community level through a contractual agreement with Yellow Wood Associates. One partner could handle the administration and logistics for a cluster of 2-3 communities. Partners should have ongoing relationships with participating communities and the organizational capacity to handle administration and logistics. We estimate the time commitment needed from partners at a total of six days a year per community cluster.

If your community is interested in participating in See the Forest, we may be able to assist you in identifying potential sponsors and partners. If your organization is interested in sponsoring See the Forest in communities, or in partnering with others to do so, we are willing to provide guidelines for identifying communities and/or additional partners.