Keynote Speaker: Ethan Tapper
Ethan Tapper is a forester, author, and digital creator from Vermont. His book How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World was published in September, 2024.
Watch The SymposiumAgenda
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Dr. Brendan Fisher, Director of the ̽̽ Natural Areas. Background of the 10 ̽̽ Natural Areas and how they are used for research, education, and stewardship.
Dr. Patricia Prelock, University of Vermont Interim-President. Importance of ̽̽’s Natural Areas to support “living laboratories” to better fulfill ̽̽’s Planetary Health Initiative.
Natural Areas History and New Statewide Focus
Hon. Robert A. Mello, Vermont Historical Society. ̽̽’s Unprecedented 1859 Purchase of the Summit of Mount Mansfield. .
Dr. Sara Helms Cahan, Curator, Thompson Zoological Collection. The connections between Natural Collections and Natural Areas.
Alicia Daniel, Vermont Master Naturalist Program. Natural Areas History and Support provided by Dr. Hub Vogelmann.
Dr. Brendan Fisher – Announcement about the Hub Vogelmann Student Engagement Fund and initiative to connect Natural Areas work with the State.
Dr. Thomas Vogelmann, Dean Emeritus of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Hub Vogelmann’s commitment to the conservation and stewardship of Natural Areas.
Becca Washburn, Director of the Lands Administration and Recreation Division. The State of Vermont’s Natural Areas System and how it was built on the foundation of Hub Vogelmann’s work.
Better utilizing Natural Areas as “Living Laboratories” for Planetary Health
Dr. Walt Poleman, Director of the Field Naturalist Program, Opportunities for Natural Areas use by ̽̽ Programs and networking capacity.
Amy Seidl, Co-Director, Senior Lecturer, Environmental Program
Dr. Peter Newman, Dean of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, Recreation Management and Natural Areas.
Keynote
Ethan Tapper – How to Love ̽̽’s Natural Areas and utilize them as “living laboratories” for ecosystem restoration and management.
Natural Areas 50th Anniversary and a New Beginning for ̽̽ Natural Areas
Dr. Kirk Dombrowski, University of Vermont Vice President for Research. Announcement of the new Field Research/Instruction and Land Stewardship Core at ̽̽. The Core will support field research activities at the ̽̽ Natural Areas, RSENR Research Forests, and Proctor Maple Research Center.