Right on the brink of spring in the Kingdom NorthWoods hosted the Vermont Coverts Cooperator Training for three days of education and peer-to-peer learning. The Cooperator training, which has been offered around the state by Vermont Coverts since 1985, teaches landowners and interested Vermonters about forest and wildlife habitat management. NorthWoods and Vermont Coverts have partnered in the past on cooperator trainings, webinars, and other landowner education programs as a way to broaden the reach of both organizations.
The training this spring was attended by 18 forest landowners and stewards who were eager to learn what they can do to benefit their forest’s health, and the wildlife habitat it provides. The training includes presentations by a group of experts and professionals, as well as afternoons spent in the field seeing the concepts in practice and discussing forest dynamics and human influence. This year the group was joined by professionals Jared Nunery, Orleans County Forester with the VT Forest Parks and Recreation; Paul Hamelin, Wildlife Biologist with the VT Department of Fish and Wildlife; Lisa Sausville, Executive Director of Vermont Coverts; Sam Perron, Director of Forest Stewardship at NorthWoods, and Ali Kosiba, Forester with the UVM Extension. They also met multiple landowners and Coverts Cooperators who shared their experience managing land, in some instances over decades.
On Friday, the group toured the NorthWoods demonstration forest on a walk led by Sam Perron with input on their respective areas of expertise from Jared, Paul, and Lisa. The group saw a variety of forest types in differing stages of succession, past timber harvests with varying goals, egg masses in vernal pools, and the first signs of spring. On Saturday, the group visited the home of Alan Yale who has been managing property in Derby for many years. He shared his personal land ethic and experiences that have shaped his management style on his land. One of his messages to the other cooperators is, “you have to manage the land you have,” whether that be a regenerating heavily logged area, an old pine plantation, or an intact multi-aged forest.
By the end of the training, cooperators were armed with the knowledge, resources, inspiration, and support to return to their corners of the state and begin to work towards their personal goals and share what they know with their communities. Cooperators are expected to take action in the next year to share information with their community whether it be through reaching out to a neighbor, hosting a workshop, or writing an article. This model of peer-to-peer learning and sharing is an important component of the cooperator training that ensures the success of the organization over time.
If this type of training is something that you would be interested in, you can learn more about Coverts and how to attend one of their trainings on their website: vtcoverts.org.