Extension Engages Whitley County High School, University of Kentucky Undergraduates and Graduate Students with State and Federal Agencies to Help Restore an Ecosystem

By Laurie Thomas, Matthew Springer, Ph.D., and Ellen Crocker, Ph.D.

Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

On March 29^th, a group of 60 FFA students from Whitley County High School, U.K. Extension, undergraduate students from the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and Natural Resources and Environmental Science Program, as well a graduate student from Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, and the Division of Forestry, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, and U.S. Forest Service joined together to assist with a reforestation effort at the Flying Rooster Farm in Whitley County. The reforestation effort was part of an overall ecosystem restoration project. The Flying Rooster Farm was the past site of defunct mining operation and was essentially left barren. The goals of the day’s events were to provide educational opportunities for the high school students to learn about the benefits of habitat restoration, how to carry restoration efforts and learn about careers in natural resources.  

The students engaged in educational programming about habitat restoration, wildlife management, invasive species control and career opportunities in the field of natural resources. They concluded the day by planting more than 2,600 native tree seedlings on the site. https://news.ca.uky.edu/article/uk-and-whitley-county-students-help-rebuild-ecosystem