Looking Back on a Succesful 2024 Field Seasons at Holt Research Forest

The 2024 field season was filled with successes at Holt Research Forest! Below is a summary of the various activities and accomplishments from this summer.

Data collection/accessibility

This season, our three Holt Research Forest Technicians successfully collected 2024 tree seed, seedling, sapling, and overstory data to contribute to our ongoing data collection efforts. Due to our datasets' long-term nature and continuity, we can answer questions about forest health and growth by identifying trends over time and in response to disturbances, including timber harvests or climate change. Ultimately, we hope our data can facilitate decision-making and encourage scientific exploration by small woodlot owners, foresters, loggers, educators, and those living within Maine’s forest-based communities. 

A flag indicating plot ‘NW3I’ in the forest. These identifying flags help ensure consistency and accuracy in collecting long-term data.

2024 Holt Research Forest Technicians

In addition to data collection, each technician conducted an independent research project utilizing Holt datasets. These projects were then communicated at our Technician Celebration event as scientific posters. The technicians developed their own research questions based on their interests and gained new skills in writing, data management, and data analysis. Their work will contribute to a greater understanding of harvest impacts on Holt’s forest tree and wildlife populations.

The Maine TREE staff, Board of Directors, and the Holt Research Forest Committee gathered at Holt’s outdoor classroom on August 1st to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2024 Holt Research Forest Technicians.

FEMC Grant

As part of the 2023 Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative Fund, we successfully cleaned, digitized, and published six datasets for three long-term projects in the Holt Research Forest FEMC data repository. The published datasets contributed to the Annual Tree Seed Collection, Regeneration Inventory, Seedling Surveys, and Timber Inventory and are available at the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative Data Repository. To view and download our data, visit uvm.edu/femc/holt. 

Education Events

In July, we welcomed the Bowdoin College Upward Bound Summer Program to our forest to discuss applied forestry research and data collection. The technicians led the student groups on the various data collection procedures they’ve been completing this summer. They taught them how to identify common coastal Maine tree species.

2024 Holt Research Forest Technician Olivia teaches high school students how to identify and measure tree seedlings.

In August, a group of undergraduate students from Bowdoin College’s McKeen Center started their orientation program at Holt Research Forest to learn about Maine’s forests. Maine TREE staff led activities and discussions that challenged students to share their viewpoints and perspectives on environmentalism. Afterward, a tree ID relay encouraged friendly competition among the group and introduced them to common Maine trees.

Maine TREE’s Forest Programs Coordinator, Kayci, leads the tree ID relay at the Holt Research Forest Outdoor Classroom.