Sustainable Forestry Teachers’ Academy Garnering High Praise

The Sustainable Forestry Teachers’ Academy is just wrapping up another year and it is already getting fantastic reviews from its students — the teachers.

The Academy is a four-day residential program that focuses on the social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainable forestry in North Carolina. This annual program is chock-full of learning experiences for the teachers who are prepared to return to their own classrooms with new knowledge and materials to share with their students.

In a recent North Carolina Forestry Association News Update, the Academy is described in this way:

Source: North Carolina Forestry Association, June 20, 2014, email News Update

“Just Fabulous”

Academy Leaders

Sustainable Forestry Teachers’ Academy Leaders Susan Moore (left), Renee Strnad, and Jennifer Grantham

That is what one teacher expressed to NCFA Executive Vice President Pryor Gibson at the conclusion of the tour of Parton Lumber Company.  The teacher stopped Gibson just before she boarded the bus that was bound for the group’s next stop.

“I want to thank you and the NCFA for this opportunity.  It is just fabulous. I have learned so much and everyone has just been so great at all of our visits.  And these three ladies are just awesome.”

The teacher was referring to Susan Moore, Renee Strnad and Jennifer Grantham of N.C. State University Extension Forestry who organize and guide the Academies.

Needless to say, the Sustainable Teachers’ Academy had another successful week of educating teachers on forestry and the forest products industry in Asheville this past week.  In addition tours of facilities, the teachers participated in workshops and PLT programs.

The coastal version of this program runs next week in New Bern.

Teachers learn about the Longleaf pine ecosystem at the Croatan National Forest

Teachers learn about the Longleaf pine ecosystem at the Croatan National Forest

These residential programs designed for teachers feature visits to several forest products facilities in the Asheville (mountain) and New Bern (coastal) areas in addition to workshops and visits to educational forests.

The NCFA appreciates its membership hosting the teachers at their facilities in what has become an extremely popular program with teachers.

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Devine Receives CESU National Network Award

Dr Hugh Devine, NC State UniversityCongratulations to Dr. Hugh Devine who has been awarded the 2014 Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) National Network Award. This prestigious award is presented biannually to recognize individuals who have contributed substantially to the development, implementation or accomplishments of the CESU Network.

Dr. Devine is an Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management and the Associate Director of the Center for Geospatial Analytics in the NC State University College of Natural Resources.

The CESU Network is a national consortium of federal agencies, tribes, academic institutions, state and local governments, nongovernmental conservation organizations, and other partners working together to support informed public trust resource stewardship. The CESU Network includes 354 partners, including 14 federal agencies, in seventeen CESUs representing biogeographic regions encompassing all 50 states and U.S. territories.

Sustainable Solution Is Changing Lives

Tyson Huffman, a junior studying paper science and engineering at NC State UniversityForest Biomaterials  junior and former Marine Tyson Huffman in NC State University’s College of Natural Resources, is working in Rwanda with Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE).  The work he is doing is changing lives.

In the developing world, the absence of affordable sanitary pads is more than a health and hygiene issue — it’s an economic and educational problem, too.

The solution to that problem is a cheap, sustainable, locally sourced sanitary pad that could be a game-changer for Rwandan girls and women.

“This guy went over there and did what I don’t think any other faculty member or student could have done,” said Med Byrd, associate professor of paper science and engineering at NC State. “In the space of about three months, with no tools, he took them from two machines in the middle of a parking lot to a dedicated crew making fluff pulp.”

Read more and watch the video>>

Dr. Hess’s Teaching Award Spotlighted in Eastern Wake News

NC State University Chancellor Randy Woodson (left) congratulates Dr. George Hess on winning the Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson (left) congratulates Dr. George Hess(right) on winning the Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

A focus on sustainability and hands-on activities for students are what Knightdale Land Use Review Board member George Hess considers some of the reasons he was chosen to receive North Carolina State University’s Board of Governor’s award at the university’s commencement exercises earlier this month.

When Hess isn’t making recommendations to Knightdale Town Council about land ordinances, he is a professor in the College of Natural Resources at N.C. State, a position he’s held since 1996.

Read the complete article in the Eastern Wake News>>

Opinion – Insurance Industry Behind The Curve In Addressing Wildfire Danger

Firefighters douse final hotspots at David and Sherri Roberts home that was destroyed by fire 24-hours earlier on a hilltop in Escondido (LA Times)

Firefighters douse final hotspots at David and Sherri Roberts home that was destroyed by fire 24-hours earlier on a hilltop in Escondido (LA Times)

Dr. Toddi Steelman, co-director of the Fire Chasers Project at North Carolina State University’s Department of Forestry & Environmental Resources and executive director of the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan, asserted in a Los Angeles Times Op-ed that while wildfires are inevitable, wildfire disasters are not; and that while we can’t control the natural world, we can control the built environment and the economic incentives that put us at risk.

Of great concern? That when it comes to wildfires, the insurance industry is behind the curve.

Read the complete article in the LA Times>>