

Join us in monitoring the development of Maine's forests through community science
Explore the wonders of Maine forests with FERN! This experiential field-based program for students, conservation organizations, and landowners combines place-based environmental education methodology with standard forest data collection protocols. FERN empowers community scientists to answer their burning questions about the Maine Woods.

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A Plot in Every Town.
We invite schools, land trusts, and environmental organizations to join us in our mission to educate young people about forests and to build a long-term dataset for forestry professionals.
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Imagine connecting learning in your classroom to the outside world and to a professional forester. Imagine contributing data for one year, ten years, or longer and how that service will inform our collective understanding of how Maine’s forests change over time.
Resources
Find all of our protocols and supplemental resources to help you establish a FERN plot and collect data with your students.
2. Setting up your plot
4. Saplings
5. Seedlings
7. Forest Health
8. Phenology
3. Overstory
6. Woody Material
9. Upload your data