The Vermont Backyard Woods Course is designed for homeowners with less than 25 acres who want to learn more about the woods in their backyard: what’s in it, who (wildlife) uses it, and how they can become better caretakers of it.
The course 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.
About the Course
- This is an introductory course, designed to give landowners basic skills and connect them to resources available.
- The self-paced 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.
- Participants will be invited to join drop-in webinar sessions with experts. Times TBD.
- We will not be offering in-person walks during this session.
- Check out the Backyard Woods Program topics here.
Who should join this course?
- Homeowners who own 5-25 acres.
- Homeowners who want to become more active stewards of their land, but don't know where to start.
- Homeowners who want to learn general ecology in Vermont.
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.
2021 Spring Course
The Vermont Urban & Community Forestry Program will host the Backyard Woods Course in Spring 2021. If you would like to be notified when registration is available, please share your contact information below.