TREE News

On June 18, Maine TREE welcomed educators, forestry professionals, workforce development partners, and industry representatives to Brewer High School for the Forest Technician Curriculum (FTC) Summit. The event marked an important milestone in the year-long professional development initiative focused on creating a Forest Technician Credential that prepares high school students for careers in Maine's forest economy.

Maine TREE kicked off its summer field season at Holt Research Forest (HRF) this past Thursday with a welcome event for its largest cohort of summer interns, fellows, work study students, and research technicians to date. In addition to the general responsibilities of their positions, each will complete an independent project, ranging from multimedia content development to invasive plant management to fungal fruiting-body survey. These early-career professionals bring a diver

Our S-l0 transects are l0m-wide strips that run the length of the "E" and "I" blocks (Fig. 1). On the S-10s, researchers have collected sapling and crown measurement data. Mapping and measuring tree heights and crowns on the S-10s allows us to better understand tree growth, including the role of regeneration trees within the system, particularly in response to timber harvests.

Following the success of previous pilot initiatives, the Brewer School Department and the Maine TREE Foundation are proud to announce the return of the Forestry Immersion Program for the summer of 2026. This unique educational partnership is made possible by a grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC), which aims to strengthen the region's forest economy and workforce pipeline. The Forestry Immersion Program offers a high-impact, place-based learning experienc

We’ve continued our momentum at Maine TREE during the first few months of 2026. Thanks to your support, our mission to connect the working forest, the classroom, and the community has become more active and impactful than ever before. Our team has been busy across the state, sparking curiosity in Maine’s middle schoolers. At the Maine Science Festival in Bangor, we engaged hundreds of students in hands-on activities that got kids thinking about the value Maine’s forests provi

“Forest Reciprocity: What Can You Do for Your Forest and What Can Your Forest Do for You?” was the theme of this year’s New England Society of American Foresters’ Winter Meeting. With half of our staff presenting at this regional conference, Maine TREE clearly had plenty of ideas to share. The event opened with a Plenary from Maine State Forester and Maine Forest Service Director, Patty Cormier. She led with some commonly known facts about Maine: Maine is 92% privately-owned

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Alternative Education Association of Maine Spring Conference, which had a theme of "Resilience for All." I was asked to share project-based learning opportunities, but before diving into activities, I used Mentimeter to poll the audience to determine what subjects are most challenging to incorporate into their programs. The results? 📊 Math was ranked most challenging by the most educators, which is not at all surprising.

Immersive Professional Development Program Invites Maine Educators to Explore the Heart of the North Woods This July The Maine TREE Foundation is excited to announce that registration is now open for the 2026 Forests of Maine Teachers’ Tour , scheduled for July 6–10, 2026 . This year’s immersive five-day experience will be based at the scenic Gorman Chairback Lodge & Cabins in Greenville, offering Maine educators a front-row seat to the ecological, economic, and social signif

At Holt Research Forest, technicians conduct understory relevés across the study grid to create a comprehensive snapshot of forest vegetation. Relevés are a standardized vegetation sampling method used to document plant species composition and abundance, allowing researchers to detect changes in vegetation structure over time and in response to management or environmental change.

Over 15,000 small mammals have been captured and recaptured at Holt Research Forest using live-trapping methods to investigate long-term wildlife dynamics.

In early December, Maine TREE hosted the 35th Annual CLP Banquet. Tim Basham, the Chairperson of the CLP Advisory Committee, welcomed loggers, natural resource professionals, and their families. He highlighted that 2025 was a significant year for the Certified Logging Professional Program, as the program hired its first full-time program manager, who, with the help of the Maine TREE Foundation staff, worked to update the CLP curriculum and modernize its resources, with result

2025 was Maine TREE’s most successful programming year to date, and before we dive into the new year, we’re taking a moment to reflect on all that we accomplished over the last year. Our staff hosted, spoke at, or attended over 80 events this year. We provided nearly a dozen students and recent graduates with early-career opportunities and engaged over 1,000 students in forest-based education programs. From Kittery to Fort Kent, and Calais to Rangeley, in 2025, our forest-ba