Woodland Stewards Educational Program             

By Billy Thomas

The University of Kentucky Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Extension partnered with regional forestry Extension programs in North Carolina, Virginia, Clemson, Tennessee, Missouri, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, and Southern Region Extension Forestry to plan and host a forestry webinar series that attracted woodland owner attendees from across the nation. The purpose of the Woodland Stewards program was to empower woodland owners to promote environmental and forest health through increased awareness, experience and access to resources.

This Woodland Stewards Educational Program was held for the fifth year in a row; Extension partners have planned and hosted a webinar series since 2019 with each year building on previous content. In 2023, more than 1,580 woodland owners from across the nation participated in this forestry and wildlife educational series. The series focused on three key areas that woodland owners in the Eastern United States are dealing with including: Establishing and Managing Open Pine-Hardwood Stands, Wildlife Considerations When Restoring Oak/Pine Woodlands, and Creating Open Woodlands to Promote Regeneration & Development of White Oak.

This large scale program allowed numerous Extension organizations to pool resources to provide forestry educational offerings collectively that would have been impossible to do independently. In addition, the program created Green Savings by reducing travel and time expenses. In total, this educational program provided for the following Green Savings: $384, 576 in salary, CO2 social costs, and travel expenses. In addition to the financial savings the program also generated over 340,000 lbs. in CO2 savings. Program participants now have a greater awareness and understanding of the need to implement sustainable forest and wildlife management conservation practices on their private property and have been empowered to do so.