- Tags:
- Volunteers,
- Stewardship,
- Land Stewards
Most of the class of 40 people gathered in Gilmanton on April 14 for their last training. (Photo: Kate Wilcox)
Forty new land steward volunteers with the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests completed their core training requirements recently at a culminating field day training held at the Gilford Town Hall & Weeks Woods in Gilford. The core training for the program began in February with five training sessions, some virtual and others in-person.
The new stewards came from many different regions of NH and received instruction in the Forest Society’s history, mission, and goals; forest management; trail maintenance; recreation management; and map/compass/navigation app skill.
The 2024 class of stewards will be active in monitoring and caring for 39 different Forest Society reservations, many of which do not already have active stewards.
The Forest Society owns and manages over 60,000 acres of conservation land in more than 95 New Hampshire communities. These lands were conserved to promote sustainable forestry, protect water quality, provide wildlife habitat, as well as share their natural beauty and tranquility with New Hampshire residents and visitors.
“The Land Steward Program now has roughly 185 active stewards monitoring 164 of our 200 reservations,” said Forest Society Land Steward Coordinator Laurel Swope-Brush. “As the program continues to expand in the coming years, we hope to get even closer to 100 percent coverage of all Forest Society reservations and each reservation.”
If you are interested in learning about how to become a Forest Society Land Steward, please visit https://www.forestsociety.org/land-steward-program