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Events Calendar

2026

June

Pollinators on Parade Walk

  • June 13
  • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • James Madison's Montpelier, Montpelier Station
  • $18/adults

Come explore different habitats and look for pollinators. We will look for the bees, butterflies, and birds responsible for pollinating Montpelier’s plants; and learn about how plants attract different pollinators, insect and bird adaptations to spread pollen, and the importance of plants and pollinators. This program is geared toward younger visitors and all ages are welcome! 

Teaching Trees

  • June 24 & 25
  • Augusta County
  • $25

These 2-day, field-based professional development sessions are for middle and high school teachers. They focus on local ecology, forest management, and sustainable forest products. A lodging stipend is available for those traveling more than an hour round trip.

  • Agenda and registration available in April.
  • Contact Ellen Powell, ellen.powell@dof.virginia.gov for details. 

Fifteen Minutes in the Forest: After the Storm 2: Cleanup Safely

Karen Snape continues her storm damage clean up series. 

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July

Teaching Trees

  • July 8 & 9
  • New Kent County
  • $25

These 2-day, field-based professional development sessions are for middle and high school teachers. They focus on local ecology, forest management, and sustainable forest products. A lodging stipend is available for those traveling more than an hour round trip.

  • Agenda and registration available in April.
  • Contact Ellen Powell, ellen.powell@dof.virginia.gov for details. 

Forestry Basics

Join fellow forest landowners and the Small Farm Outreach Program for a workshop designed to help you manage your timber in a biologically and economically sound manner. We’ll look at current trends and issues that impact your forest ownership interests such as markets, timber sales, harvesting dynamics, and unique opportunities.

Contact Neil Clark, neclark@vt.edu, for more information.

Generation NEXT Legacy Planning Workshop

This 1+ day Legacy Planning program is for farm and forest owners and includes traditional estate planning as well as family dynamics and goal setting.  Learn how you can keep your land INtact, IN forest/farm, IN family ownership by learning from legal and financial professionals, conservation specialists and fellow landowners.

Contact Karen Snape, ksnape@vt.edu, 540-231-6494 for details. 

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August

Beyond the Basics Woodland Owner Retreat: Managing Your Forest for Timber Income 

This day and a half retreat will cover the people and process involved in a timber sale. A combination of classroom, field trip, and hands-on sessions will be used to teach the concepts of sustainable timber harvesting. The program will conclude with a virtual timber sale activity. 

Topics include:

  • People involved in a timber sale
  • Overview of the forest industry
  • Factors that affect price
  • Is your timber ready to sell?
  • Field trip with active timber harvests
  • Virtual timber sale experience

On site lodging is available for individuals and couples. Couples lodging is limited to 5 couples and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. To maximize your experience, we strongly encourage participants to stay on site. 

Registration fees include 3 meals on Friday and 2 meals on Saturday, plus refreshments, field trip transportation, and materials. 

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

Pest Management in the Home/Yard/Landscape

Sooner or later we are going to have problems with pests around our homes and yards. Moles & voles, fire ants, bees, termites, bed bugs, spotted lantern flies, grubs, and the list goes on. This session will briefly review some of the top problematic pests in southeast Virginia and provide some recommendations on how to deal with them.

Contact Neil Clark, neclark@vt.edu, 757-653-2572, for details

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September

Forest Stand Improvement

Discover how to turn the forest you got into the forest you want. This is the basis of forest management. Some people are happy with "anything green" on their property and others want perfect rows of uniform pine trees. And there are all sorts of things in between based on your objectives, along with some lessons of DOs and DON'Ts. This session will explain the biology related to improving forest stands to meet varied objectives be it health, wildlife, aesthetics, or economics.  

Contact Neil Clark, neclark@vt.edu, 757-653-2572, for details.

Southeast Virginia Beginning Woodland Owner Retreat

  • September 11-12
  • New Kent Conference Center, Providence Forge
  • No Lodging
    • Individual $65
    • Couple $130
  • Lodging Thurs. & Fri.
    • Individual $130
    • Couple $195

This day and a half retreat will cover the basics of learning about your woods and the wildlife that live in them. Meet natural resource professionals who can provide you with educational, financial, and technical assistance. 

Topics include:

  • Setting your goals and objectives
  • Working with a forester
  • Managing for wildlife
  • Selling your timber
  • Hardwood and pine management 
  • Tree identification
  • Forest measurements 

On site lodging is available for individuals and couples. Lodging is limited and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. To maximize your experience, we strongly encourage participants to stay on site. Registration fees include 3 meals on Friday and breakfast on Saturday, plus refreshments, field trip transportation, and materials. 

  • Agenda 
  • Register by mail
  • Register online 
  • Contact Jennifer Gagnon, jgagnon@vt.edu, 540-231-6391, for more information. 

Do It Yourself Small Acreage Woodlots

The vast majority of Virginia landowners own small parcels of land, often containing some wooded area. It can be challenging to find or pay contractors to do management tasks. So many landowners want to grab some tools and invest some sweat-equity and do some tasks as a form of recreation and enjoyment. But what to do? What things are compatible and what snags might we want to be careful to avoid. This session will provide a short overview of things you can do on your small woodlot with your own two hands.

Contact Neil Clark, neclark@vt.edu, 757-653-2572, for details.

Small Scale Forestry Expo

This forestry trade show is for family woodland owners who want to manage their land without huge equipment. Exhibitors will include manufacturers and dealers who represent/carrying mini excavators (up to 8-ton capacity), skid steers, tracked steer loaders, small- to mid-size agricultural tractors, brush and wood handling attachments, outdoor wood furnaces, side-by-sides and UTVs, chainsaws, and safety equipment. Makers of firewood processing equipment, portable sawmills, trailers, and storage buildings will also be represented. 

Service providers in attendance will include insurance companies, finance companies, woodlot consultants, timber buyers, educators, and more.

Learn more on the Small Scale Forestry Expo website.

Generation NEXT Workshop

  • September 19
  • South Boston, VA
  • $90 for up to 2 people; $10 each additional person

This 1-day Legacy Planning program is for farm and forest owners and includes traditional estate planning as well as family dynamics and goal setting.  Learn how you can keep your land INtact, IN forest/farm, IN family ownership by learning from legal and financial professionals, conservation specialists and fellow landowners.

  • Agenda coming soon
  • Registration coming soon

Contact Karen Snape, ksnape@vt.edu, 540-231-6494 for details. 

Timber Cruising for Woodland Owners 

  • September 25
  • 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
  • Matthews State Forest, Galax
  • $50 - includes lunch, Biltmore stick, and angle gauge

Having an idea of the volume and value of your timber is useful, and sometimes essential, for various management decisions such as: selling timber, enrolling in carbon markets, valuing an estate, and establishing a tax basis.

This hands-on class will uncover the “mystery” behind timber cruising and give you an appreciation for how a professional forester uses this information to guide decision making.

  • Agenda and registration available in June

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

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October

50th Anniversary Fall Forestry & Wildlife Field Tours!

  • October 20 - Montgomery County
  • October 21 - Franklin County
  • October 22 - Orange County
  • October 23 - Hanover County 

Join the celebration of Virginia's longest running forest landowner program!  Special stops and swag!

16th Biennial Longleaf Conference

The Biennial Longleaf Conference, sponsored by The Longleaf Alliance, is a regional conference that is focused on the restoration and conservation of the longleaf ecosystem that once dominated the landscape within the southeastern United States. The conference provides the opportunity for people from all over the southeast to get together, share, learn, and celebrate longleaf. It also serves as a rallying spot for several other organizations and government agencies seeking to stage additional events in order to better collaborate on the conference topics.

This conference is open to individuals, private landowners, land managers, wildlife biologists, conservation groups, consultants, university researchers, forestry professionals, agency and outreach personnel who share an interest in restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem. On average, attendance ranges from 250-400 depending on conference location. The conference also draws from 25-35 exhibitors and vendors.

For more information, contact Sarah Crate, sarah@longleafalliance.org.

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November

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December

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2026 Programs