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Outreach

Community work

I am a member of Sustainable CT/Windham, Windham Conservation, Open Spaces & Agriculture Commission, and the 501(c)(3) non-profit Garden Club of Windham. I have performed:

  • Grant writing

  • Project design and management (reforestation, composting, pollinator pathways)

  • Hands-on work (tree inventory/canopy, planting, removing invasive species)

  • Political/community engagement (town council, volunteers, state programs, federal programs)

Founder, New England Agroforestry

Website: www.NewEnglandAgroforestry.com

A new nonprofit organization establishing real-world adoption of agroforestry practices across New England and using innovative marketing campaigns:

  • Distribute resources and establish demonstration sites to help build an infrastructure of agroforestry production.

  • Create a peer-network of practitioners with publicity and connections to manufacturers, designers, and vendors.

  • Use creative approaches to marketing. Work with advertising firms, marketing/business experts, and economics professors to form effective strategies and build a market.

 

Interesting Projects: Tree Gazer App for public spaces, “New Wilderness” art exhibition, Forest Trail for tourism, Forest Culture Publications, "Forest Made" Certification for agroforestry products, and innovative publications for distribution.

Seedling Project

This project uses scientific research to establish new agroforestry practices quickly and directly into locations across New England. It will accelerate the relationship between academic work and practical implementation in our forests. It will therefore qualify as an organization for the benefit of a college or university under IRS 26 C.F.R. 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(iv), or as a public organization benefiting a college or university and owned by the state under 509(a) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi). It may also qualify for funding programs for improved agricultural practices in the context of climate change.

 

Procedure:

  1. Gather up-to-date research on forestry practices.

  2. Design each technique to be easily executed, require minimal maintenance, and be adaptable to different conditions.

  3. Produce outreach material to be simple, clever, effective, and inviting. Consult with advertising firm or business/marketing school.

  4. Distribute materials directly to practitioners and through institutional programs, forestry/growing supply companies, news sources, and online forums. Practitioners include foresters, landowners, farmers, homeowners, landscapers, garden clubs, non-profits, town public works, home gardeners, market growers, and public institutions.

 

Benefits:

  • Accelerate the application of scientific work to forestry practices to produce real-world results across the region.

  • Drive New England as a leader in forward-thinking forestry infrastructure.

  • Increase public exposure to new practices.

  • Assist university programs in experimentation, surveying, and outreach.

  • Opportunity to evaluate practices across locations, applications, and human demographics.

  • Positive university exposure to a range of individuals, farms, landowners, agricultural groups, towns, universities, reservations, and companies. These relationships create further opportunities, benefits, and innovation.

  • Affordable work based on forestry expertise, advocacy experience, and pre-existing university resources rather than establishing new administration or infrastructure.

References

Forest Service. (2020). Forests of Connecticut, 2019. Resource Update FS-240. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. https://doi.org/10.2737/FS-RU-240

Allen, J.M., Leininger, T.J., Hurd, J.D. et al. (2013) Socioeconomics drive woody invasive plant richness in New England, USA through forest fragmentation. Landscape Ecology, 28, 1671–1686. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-013-9916-7

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