Registration
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.
Register Now About Ethan TrapperAgenda
Coffee and Registration
12:30 PM
Welcome to UVM's Natural Area's 50th Anniversary Symposium! Register when you arrive and grab coffee.
Welcome and Opening Remarks
1:00 PM
Dr. Brendan Fisher, Director of the UVM Natural Areas. Background of the 10 UVM Natural Areas and how they are used for research, education, and stewardship.
Dr. Patricia Prelock, University of Vermont Interim-President. Importance of UVM’s Natural Areas to support “living laboratories” to better fulfill UVM’s Planetary Health Initiative.
Natural Areas History and New Statewide Focus
1:25 PM
Hon. Robert A. Mello, Vermont Historical Society. UVM’s Unprecedented 1859 Purchase of the Summit of Mount Mansfield. See his journal article here.
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
2:15 PM
Dr. Walt Poleman, Director of the Field Naturalist Program, Opportunities for Natural Areas use by UVM 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.
Break
2:45 PM
Keynote
3:00 PM
Ethan Tapper – How to Love UVM’s Natural Areas and utilize them as “living laboratories” for ecosystem restoration and management.
Natural Areas 50th Anniversary and a New Beginning for UVM Natural Areas
3:40 PM
Dr. Kirk Dombrowski, University of Vermont Vice President for Research. Announcement of the new Field Research/Instruction and Land Stewardship Core at the University of Vermont. The Core will support field research activities at the UVM Natural Areas, RSENR Research Forests, and Proctor Maple Research Center.
Joshua Beneš, FRILS Associate Director. Talks and Walks on UVM’s Wild Side Recap, What the FRILS Core Facility will look like and how you can get involved.