The Forest Society’s land stewards are amazing volunteers.  I know this firsthand, as I’ve had the privilege of coordinating their activities on the Forest Society’s 170+ reservations for the past seven years.  Land stewards come from all over the state, from different educational backgrounds and different generations.  Some are retired, some self-employed, and some work full-time while volunteering, but there is one thing they all have in common:  a love for New Hampshire’s woods. 

Monitoring a forest reservation involves several visits to a property each year, while engaged in productive work like trail maintenance, monitoring property boundaries, removing trash and debris, or maintaining signs and infrastructure.  The work can be challenging, but it’s also satisfying being outside in the woods and knowing you are an important part of the state’s conservation landscape. And, land stewards have a lot of fun! Besides their solo time in the woods, volunteers work together with other stewards and Forest Society staff on group workdays, learn new skills together at workshops, and enjoy social events and hikes planned for stewards (and sometimes by stewards!). 

Every year we train a new class of volunteer land stewards to help maintain properties that are not covered by existing stewards or those that could use additional pairs of hands.  This spring, we’re looking for volunteers to steward properties in Tamworth, Surry, Woodstock, Wolfeboro, Henniker, Gilford, Pittsburg, Kingston, and Gilmanton, among others- for a complete listing go HERE.  The training will be held at the Barbara C. Harris Conference Center in Greenfield, N.H. on April 24th and 25th, 2015.  It’s free, and lodging and meals are included, though we ask that new steward volunteers make at least a two-year, good faith commitment to the program.  If you’re interested in joining this amazing group of conservation volunteers, contact me, Carrie Deegan, at cdeegan@forestsociety.org.