A hearty welcome to the SPNHF land steward Class of 2014! Twenty seven new stewards completed the two-day training course last weekend, which was held this year at AMC's Cardigan Lodge in Alexandria. As usual, the new class is diverse in ages and backgrounds, but everyone seems to come to this volunteer position from a deep-seated love of the outdoors, and New Hampshire's forests in particular. So it was not long before new stewards were bonding and making connections with others in the group. The training covers the history and mission of the Forest Society, the basics of being a land steward, map/compass navigation and boundary monitoring, timber/forestry management, and trail maintenance. We used the grounds around Cardigan Lodge for several of our outdoor sessions, and then traveled to Victor's Woods to look at the results of the recent harvest there.
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| George Frame talking about a recent timber harvest at Victor's Woods. |
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| Wendy measuring a pine |
The group also had some down time to socialize or pursue their own activities in the late afternoon and evenings. Some people climbed Mt. Cardigan (even in the early morning rain!) or explored the trails around Cardigan Lodge and Welton Falls State Forest. On Friday night, the power went out for five hours (just after dinner, which was fortuitous for our bellies) so it was on to headlamps and flashlights for the evening. The outage didn't deter our group from enjoying a nice campfire and the ambiance of the lodge by lamplight.
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| At Victors Woods the group learned that this reservation is a prime site for growing softwoods- 6 different species grow concurrently on the property. Five species are pictured here in this group of seedlings- can you spot them? |
Please join me in welcoming the new class of stewards to our community! The Forest Society is proud to have so many talented, knowledgeable, and engaged volunteers helping us steward our lands!
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| Joslin Bennett (right) leading the map and compass session |
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| Evening campfire on friday night |
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| A group of new stewards taking a hike at Welton Falls (photo: G.Larson) |
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