One of the big questions that our Buds, Leaves, and Global Warming students document the answer to every year is what kind of autumn it will be. The dryness of August has given way to early color, but how long will it last? How vivid will it be? So many thing left to wonder about and observe. I look forward to hearing about what your students find out. Send me updates and pictures and I’ll share those with the community. If you read to the end of this newsletter you will be rewarded with a picture of the cows that make the pastures at Harvard Forest their home for the summer and fall. They are really cute.
Have fun out there! Katharine
We need your help! Beech Leaf Disease has been decimating our forests this past summer. It arrived quickly and is now ubiquitous. There are so many unanswered questions around this disease, which makes this a great opportunity to involve our students with data collection. Dr. Dave Orwig, our invasive pests and pathogens project ecologist would like to get a clearer picture of what beech leaf disease is looking like around the region. We are asking ALL of our schoolyard participants to look around their sites to see if they have any beech trees, and if so to have their students fill out this data sheet and return it to me: katharinehinkle@fas.harvard.edu before leaf drop (Late October/Early November depending on where you are located). I’ll then map and share out results this winter. Even if you aren’t a schoolyard teacher, but you read the newsletter anyway (hi!), this is a great way to begin to get involved with our participatory science programs, you can submit datasheets too! The assessment is designed to take under 10 minutes of class time!
Community Monthly Zoom Calls
This year we are bringing back our monthly community zoom calls. They have been a great way to connect, learn new things, and inspire each other in between our workshops. 1 PDP is awarded for each meeting attended. See below for topics and registration links:
Wednesday, October 1st, 3:30-4:30: Summer reading book discussion “The Trees are Speaking” (see below for an exciting opportunity to hear from the author herself!) Didn’t read it? Come anyway just to connect and say hi. REGISTER
Wednesday, November 5th, 3:30-4:30: Guest Speaker, renowned artist Nancy Lowe, “Drawing for learning in the Biology classroom, lab, and field” Come see how teaching drawing in your classroom can enhance learning. No experience required. Participants will have the opportunity to engage further by piloting lessons this winter. Nancy largely works with college students and faculty, so we are excited to pilot this with the K12 world. REGISTER
Wednesday, December 3rd, 3:30-4:30: (Tentative) New Harvard Forest Data Nugget!-Breathing Wetlands: The role of greenhouse gas exchange in wetlands. Hear from our Summer 2025 Research Experience for Teachers Emily Coumbassa and Diana Klimas as they walk us through there latest version of their soon to be published Data Nugget. REGISTER
Coming soon! Fall Book Talk by Lynda Mapes
The author of our summer reading book “The Trees are Speaking” will be in town for two book reading events. One at the Arnold Arboretum and the other at Harvard Forest-join for a fun evening!
Book talk, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Enjoy the arboretum and reading at the Hunnewell Visitor Center at Arborway Gate. Sept. 21, 2 p.m. 125 Arborway, Boston, MA
Book talk, Harvard Forest. Come to the forest's beautiful Fisher Museum for a discussion and slide show. Sept. 24, 7 p.m. 324 North Main Street, Petersham, MA
Regional Hubs
In the coming weeks, stay tuned for some connecting emails from me. I’ll be emailing small groups of you that I think would make for some great cross classroom partnerships. Whether its because you are geographically close (or far!), work with a similar age group (or not!), or similar tree species (or different!). I’ll be emailing out ideas for how to connect or possible collaborative projects. This isn’t a requirement, just a possible enrichment of your studies and way if nothing else to connect with a like minded colleague.
Upcoming in person workshops-Save the dates, registration opens in November
Winter Data Workshop at Harvard Forest, Tuesday, January 28th 2026 Come learn how to help your students tell the stories of the data that they have been collecting. Three levels of workshop provided from intro support in data entry to developing lessons and assistance in interpretating your data.
Winter Data Workshop at Harvard Museum of Natural History (Level 1), Date TDB, likely first week in February
Spring Workshop, Tuesday, March 31st, 2026 at Harvard Forest-BLG teachers will learn the spring protocol, other teachers will engage with ongoing research at the forest. We will share our year’s experience with each other and go on an excursion. We will also be celebrating teachers who have been collecting data with us for milestone years (5, 10, 15 years!).
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