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Events Calendar

2025

July

Teaching Trees for Teachers

Teaching Trees is a 2-day training for middle and high school teachers who wish to incorporate forestry into a science or agriculture curriculum. 

What you’ll get: 14 hours of instruction in sustainable local forest management, forest ecology, and forest products; two SOL-correlated Project Learning Tree® modules and related teaching supplies; ideas for incorporating forestry field study into classes

Lodging reimbursement is available to those traveling from outside the area.

Contact Rich Wood, rwood@co.augusta.va.us, 540-248-0148 x 8 for more information.

Program is full.

Fifteen Minutes in the Forest: Managing Rock Outcrops for Wildlife

Join Virginia Cooperative Extension's Bill Worrell on a new woodland adventure. 

Teaching Trees for Teachers

Teaching Trees is a 2-day training for middle and high school teachers who wish to incorporate forestry into a science or agriculture curriculum. 

What you’ll get: 14 hours of instruction in sustainable local forest management, forest ecology, and forest products; two SOL-correlated Project Learning Tree® modules and related teaching supplies; ideas for incorporating forestry field study into classes

Lodging reimbursement is available to those traveling from outside the area.

Program is full. 

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August

Field Skills for Family Woodland Owners Field Trip

This capstone for the Online Woodland Options for Landowners class will provide an opportunity to practice tree identification, tree measurements and valuation, and take a tour to see active forest management practices in action. Breakfast, lunch, refreshments, and transportation for the field tour are provided. 

Free for current Online Woodland Options students (please e-mail jgagnon@vt.edu to be put on the registration list)

$25 for all other woodland owners. 

Generation NEXT Legacy Planning Workshop

  • August 15, 5:00 - 7:30 PM & August 16, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
  • James Madison's Montpelier, Orange County
  • $90 for 2 family members; $10 each additional family member

Join family communication, conservation, legal, and financial experts to learn how to plan for passing your land on to the next generation while keeping it intact, in forest, and in family ownership.

Registration fee includes dinner, light breakfast, lunch, and 56-page Legacy Planning Workbook. 

Contact Karen Snape, ksnape@vt.edu, for more information.

Virginia Tree Farm Foundation Lunch Tour

After a catered lunch at the Ruritan, we will tour Dick Porterfield’s 377-acre Tree Farm to learn about loblolly pine management including using clonal seedlings and thinnings. We will also discuss protecting water quality and options of for managing hardwoods and visit a 10-year-old longleaf pine plantation. 

Contact Jennifer Gagnon, jgagnon@vt.edu, for details. 

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September

Virginia Tree Farm Foundation Lunch Tour

  • September 4
  • 11:30 - 3:00
  • Raccoon Creek Pinelands, Yale
  • $15/person; $30/couple

We will enjoy a boxed lunch from the Virginia Diner in a new pavilion made from longleaf pine and then take a tour to learn about restoration of this native species. This property is the 2025 Virginia Tree Farm of the Year!

Contact Jennifer Gagnon, jgagnon@vt.edu, for details. 

Beyond the Basics Woodland Owner Retreat:

Managing Your Forest for Wildlife

  • September 5-6
  • New Kent Conference Center, Providence Forge
  • Individual
    • No lodging: $65
    • Lodging: $130
  • Couple
    • No lodging: $130
    • Lodging: $260

Whether you have 5 or 500 acres, there are ways to manage your woods to create habitat for many different types of wildlife. This program will focus on aspects of creating and maintaining habitat for both game and non-game species, such as white-tailed deer, black bear, bobwhite quail, turkey, songbirds, pollinators, reptiles, and amphibians.

A combination of classroom, field trip, and hands-on activities will be used to teach concepts of sustainable woodland management for wildlife management. Registration includes 3 meals on Friday, breakfast on Saturday, snacks and refreshments, materials, and field trip transportation. 

This Beyond the Basics Retreat will be hosted by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and Virginia Cooperative Extension and is for landowners who have some experience with forest management.

  • Final agenda available end of July
  • Register by mail
  • Register online

Contact Jennifer Gagnon, jgagnon@vt.edu, 540-231-6391 for more information. 

Real Forestry for Real Estate

This program focuses on the importance of forests and forestry, and provides real estate professionals with tools which may help them better market their product (i.e., rural land).  At the end of each program, we discuss the award-winning Welcome to the Woods publication and distribute a set number to each participant with instructions to hand them out to clients interested in purchasing forested land. 

For more information, contact Karen Snape, ksnape@vt.edu, 540-231-6494.

Woods & Wildlife Conference

Join the first-ever south central Virginia/north central North Carolina landowner Woods & Wildlife Conference. Modeled after the ever-popular Woods & Wildlife Conferences in Culpeper and southwest Virginia, this one-day event will consist of concurrent sessions and a tour of the nearby Roseburg Forest Products mill. 

More details and registration coming early summer 2025.

For more information, contact Neil Clark, neclark@vt.edu or Jason Fisher, kefishe@vt.edu.

Virginia Tree Farm Foundation Lunch Tour

We will enjoy lunch together and learn about the Virginia Tree Farm Foundation. Then we’ll explore the Demeter Tree Farm, a 540-acre  property, to learn about the variety of management and research activities taking place on the land. This property was the 2024 Virginia Tree Farm of the Year. 

  • Registration is limited to 8 people
  • Register online
  • Register by mail

Contact Jennifer Gagnon, jgagnon@vt.edu, for details. 

Virginia Tree Farm Foundation Lunch Tour

We will enjoy lunch together and learn about the Virginia Tree Farm Foundation. Then we’ll see active forest management practices occurring on this 239-acre Tree Farm in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley.

Contact Jennifer Gagnon, jgagnon@vt.edu, for details. 

Virginia Tree Farm Foundation Lunch Tour

We’ll meet at the Community Center for a catered lunch and brief presentation on the Virginia Tree Farm Foundation. Then we’ll travel to the nearby 57-acre Tree Farm to learn about managing for Appalachian hardwoods, Eastern white pine, and all the wildlife that live there. We’ll also learn about research and outreach  projects with Virginia Tech. Registration is limited to 8 people

Contact Jennifer Gagnon, jgagnon@vt.edu, for details. 

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October

Fall Forestry & Wildlife Field Tours

Join landowners, natural resource professionals, and other outdoor lovers for day-long tours that explore a variety of sustainable forestry and wildlife management practices. Tours visit private, public, and industry-owned lands. 

Past tours have visited seedling nurseries, timber harvesting operations, sawmills, pine plantations, cooperages, hardwood forests, arboretums, Christmas tree farms, elk habitat, fisheries, hunting plantations, and more. 

  • October 2 Henry County
  • October 9 Wise County
  • October 17 Frederick County
  • October TBA Virginia Beach
  • Agendas and registration available in August. 

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November

Real Forestry for Real Estate

This program focuses on the importance of forests and forestry, and provides real estate professionals with tools which may help them better market their product (i.e., rural land).  At the end of each program, we discuss the award-winning Welcome to the Woods publication and distribute a set number to each participant with instructions to hand them out to clients interested in purchasing forested land. 

For more information, contact Karen Snape, ksnape@vt.edu, 540-231-6494.

Timber Cruising for Woodland Owners 

  • November 7
  • 10:30 - 4:00
  • Reynolds Homestead, Critz

Hiring a professional forester is the best way to ensure an accurate accounting of your timber volume and value. And it’s important for you to understand where these numbers come from. This hands-on class will teach you how a timber cruise is conducted. 

More details coming summer 2025.

Real Forestry for Real Estate

This program focuses on the importance of forests and forestry, and provides real estate professionals with tools which may help them better market their product (i.e., rural land).  At the end of each program, we discuss the award-winning Welcome to the Woods publication and distribute a set number to each participant with instructions to hand them out to clients interested in purchasing forested land. 

For more information, contact Karen Snape, ksnape@vt.edu, 540-231-6494.

2025 Southwest Virginia Tree Syrup School

  • November 22
  • St. Paul

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December

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2025 Programs