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The mission of Great Mountain Forest is to promote the working forest as a renewable resource, as a habitat for wildlife and as a classroom for training and education.
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In this issue: Interns at work and Tom Blagden's gift of seeing GMF through his camera lens
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Solving the great moose-tery! Jody, Eve, and Leeane are counting moose as part of the moose census. Stay tuned for more clues and updates....
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Summer Interns are Part of GMF Tradition
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For decades,
Great Mountain Forest summer internship program has been providing college students with valuable in-the-forest experience that impacts their career prospects and pathways.
Supervising the interns since 1990, forest manager Jody Bronson has the program down to a science. Jody explains, "I want to teach interns what it's like to work in a forest, to use the tools, and to deal with situations that arise." Part of his method is fostering a spirit of mutuality and respect. He teaches interns, interns teach each other--and him. How do you think he stays current on life outside the forest?!
"I want to help interns tackle subjects and skills they potentially have trouble with at college. There's probably not much I can teach them about a course they've earned an A in. I want to build confidence in their skills and ability to teach themselves and trust their own judgment. " Bronson believes it's important to do the same jobs that he's asking interns to perform. "The interns work harder if there are shared responsibilities."
Thanks to all donors for their generous funding of the internship program. It's
YOU who make such an impact on a future forester or environmentalist. If you'd like to support this program we'd love to welcome you as an internship donor.
Click here and designate your donation to "forest interns" on the giving form.
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Eve Cullerton Gaining Climate Change Knowledge in Policy and Field
by Eve Cullerton
My career aspirations involve finding ways to expand our understanding of the environment through field research, and hopefully work towards protecting our natural resources from over-exploitation.
This internship not only allows me to develop an understanding of the policy side of conservation, but also allows me to pursue my passion for the outdoors through field-based projects.
Working with Tamara, I am involved in researching how the forest can have a regional, national, and international voice in environmental conservation. I'm assisting in the coordination of a working group of the
Governor’s Council on Climate Change,
examining membership options for environmental organizations, and researching the
UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relationship to GMF's mission
.
I am also thrilled to be working on some projects within the forest with Jody, Russell, and Leeane. GMF is unique in that it is located in one of the only areas in CT where
Red Spruce
grow. Leeane and I are working to set up monitoring plots to see how these trees may respond to the effects of climate change over time.
We have started a project to document moose numbers within GMF using trail cameras. There have been multiple moose sightings and we developing ways to distinguish individuals from one another.
I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with all of the amazing people at GMF this summer.
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Leeane Marvin Focuses on Spruce and Moose
by Leeane Marvin
This summer I have had the privilege to be a part of the Great Mountain Forest Team. It truly has been an adventure!
Learning about this amazing, unfragmented forest has been wonderful. Jody Bronson has been just the best teacher. He is patient, kind, full of knowledge and most importantly he makes working and learning fun.
We have had full field days working on dendrology (the scientific study of trees),
silviculture
,
point sampling
and
plot measurements
. I have learned everything from compass and boundary lines, lumber harvesting and milling to road and trail maintenance.
The
Red Spruce
(
Picea rubens
) tree is an indicator species, and are present here at GMF. We began doing fixed radius plots to monitor their health.
We have implemented a moose census project. There have been countless other things that Jody has taught me this summer, along with helping me prepare for the
CT Foresters Exam.
This is my senior year at UCONN. After graduation I hope to work within the forestry field in CT.
Working at Great Mountain Forest has truly put to life everything I have learned in the classroom. Hands-on learning and experience is essential.
Without this internship opportunity, I would not have gained the confidence and knowledge to begin a career in forestry.
Thank you all so very much for this opportunity!
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Tom Blagden
Tom has volunteered to use his talents on behalf of GMF, capturing images that evoke a sense of place and the forest's unique biodiversity.
GMF is grateful for this gift to see the forest come alive in a different way, through Tom's camera lens. We'll be working with Tom to share his images with you.
A professional nature photographer for over 40 years, Tom Blagden has concentrated his work primarily on Maine, South Carolina, Costa Rica, and more recently the Grand Canyon.
Tom’s photographs have appeared in most national conservation calendars, as well as in numerous exhibits and magazines, including gracing the covers of Smithsonian, Audubon, Outdoor Photographer, Nature Conservancy, and Sierra.
Tom’s photographs, writing, and presentations are devoted to land protection and conservation issues.
He has produced ten books, the last three on Acadia and the Grand Canyon National Parks, won national book awards.
Tom has served on the boards of The Nature Conservancy of SC and the Lowcountry Land Trust. Tom is a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and the North American Nature Photography Association. Tom is a graduate of The Hotchkiss School, CT, and Harvard University and leads photography trips rafting the Grand Canyon. He lives in Lakeville, CT, with his wife, Lynn. They have a daughter, Sarah, in Dallas, Texas.
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Tom Blagden Captures a Sense of Place at GMF
by Tom Blagden
Returning to live full-time in the Northwest Corner after four decades in South Carolina felt like an embrace from all that was wonderful about my childhood here rambling around Great Mountain Forest. It represented this hidden, mysterious kingdom that tantalized our imaginations but was never quite attainable due to its impressive geographic scope.
Now, after a lifetime in conservation photography, I’m thrilled to go back to my roots, but with a different eye and skill set--and an enriched habitat with bear, bobcat, deer and moose.
Nature photography is a powerful and emotional medium. Working in conservation allowed me to use photography to evoke a sense of place, which in turn assigns a higher value to that place.
The more finite the area, the better, for that intimacy fosters creativity. The goal is ultimately to attempt to know it so well that “one wears the landscape like clothing”, as the writer Barry Lopez states.
Great Mountain Forest is such a place, worthy of our physical, emotional and spiritual investment.
Personally, maybe I’m trying to recreate my youth, but in the process I’m discovering more deeply what’s self-sustaining and what’s most important in these trying times.
My objective is simple but not easy: to convey through photographs GMF’s hidden spirit- the essence of its habitat diversity, its seasonal moods, its elusive wildlife--and by sharing those images generate a deeper pride of place and a landscape worthy of our support.
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Stand with the Trees!
Donate
to Great Mountain Forest.
Your generosity makes our work possible!
GMF is critical to the environmental and economic sustainability of the region as well as an important contributor to research and education about climate change and environmental health. Help us support the forest as a vital natural resource.
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