Penn State Extension, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and their partners are sponsoring a series of three workshops designed to help owners of small patch woodlands improve their land.

The Woods In Your Backyard: Learning To Create and Enhance Natural Areas Around Your Home Workshops are designed specifically (but not exclusively) for smaller landscapes.

Penn State research for DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry estimates that nearly half a million Pennsylvanians own a small patch of woodlands -- something less than ten acres in size. In fact, the average small ownership is about two acres.

In sum these small patches add up to about a million or so acres, or about 10 percent, of our state’s privately held woodlands.

These small lots are a big deal. This land, wooded or not, can provide a variety of benefits.

By enhancing wooded areas or creating natural areas on your property, you can enjoy recreation, aesthetics, wildlife, improved water quality and reduced energy costs.

Owners of even the smallest landscapes can make a positive difference in their environment through planning and implementing simple stewardship practices.

The workshops introduce the manual “The Woods in Your Backyard: Learning to Create and Enhance Natural Areas around Your Home.” All participants will receive the full-color, 108-page manual - a $23 value!

This self-directed book will guide you through the process of developing and implementing projects to enhance your land’s natural resources.

At the workshops, participants will remain together in the morning and then choose their afternoon sessions based on interest.

Topics include: Providing wildlife habitat; Tree identification; Tree planting and native landscaping; Woods and water; Forest ecology and soils; Woodlot management techniques; Invasive plant identification/control; Getting youth outdoors; Maple syrup, mushrooms, and medicinal plants; Creating wildflower meadows; Landowner resources; and more.

The workshops will be held--

-- February 25: Penn State University, Forest Resources Building, Room 112, University Park, Centre County from 9 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.  Click Here to register or contact 814-355-4897. Registration required by February 20.

-- April 1: Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Lehman, Luzerne County from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Click Here to register For more information, contact Vinnie Cotrone by sending email to: vjc1@psu.edu or call 570-825-1701.

-- April 8: Penn State Beaver, SUB Lodge, Monaca, Beaver County from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Click Here to register. For more information, contact Brian Wolyniak by sending email to: bjw229@psu.edu or call 412-263-1000.

The cost for the workshops is $35 per person, which includes lunch and a Woods in Your Backyard manual.

In addition to Penn State Extension and DCNR, the workshops are sponsored by: The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay: Forests for the [Chesapeake] Bay Program, PA Forestry Association, and the ClearWater Conservancy.

Click Here for more information and to register.  For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events of interest to private woodland owners, visit the Penn State Center for Private Forests and the Penn State Extension Forest Resources webpages.

NewsClips:

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Stroud Water Research Center Awarded DCNR Tree Planting Grant

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[Posted: Jan. 24, 2017]

1/30/2017