Urban Forestry seniors Dan Cohen and Chris Pineau placed first in national tree climbing competition

Urban Forestry seniors Dan Cohen and Chris Pineau (both STK '07) placed first among 37 teams at the national Student Career Days Tree Climbing Competition hosted by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), surpassing the second place team by 14 points. Chris and Dan finished in second place last year, so their victory in 2009 was especially sweet. Brian Kane, Massachusetts Arborists Association Asst. Prof. of Commercial Arboriculture, commented, "Chris and Dan have repeatedly demonstrated their climbing skills, and I'm really glad their hard work and perseverance paid off."...
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Mac Cloyes, an Arboriculture & Community Forestry student has been awarded a prestigious Garden Club of America Fellowship

 The $4,000 fellowship was awarded in recognition of Mac's outstanding academic achievement and his work on an important research project with Dr. Brian Kane. "Mac's worked really hard on several projects with me, and he's looking forward to continuing to work on research projects this summer," said Dr. Kane. Mac is currently investigating the extraction strength of different size lag screws in sugar maple and paper birch trees. Arborists typically use lag screws to install support systems in trees with poor branch attachments. Mac will present his findings at the International Society of Arboriculture's annual conference on July 27, 2009 in Providence, RI, as well as at the Massachusetts Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference on campus on May 1, 2009....
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UMass forestry students victorious in New England Quiz Bowl

The team representing the UMass Student Chapter of the Society of American Foresters won the annual Quiz Bowl competition held March 18, 2009 at the 89th annual winter meeting of the New England Society of American Foresters in Portland, Maine. The UMass team of (left-to-right) David Clapham, Jeff Hutchins, and Robert Herrick defeated the University of Maine team before a lively audience. The Quiz Bowl competition was patterned after the famous television game show of “Jeopardy”, and students compete head-to-head with another team by answering questions on a variety of topics related to trees, forests, and forestry....
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Dr. Paul Sievert has received the “Recovery Champion Award” from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Dr. Paul Sievert, U. S. Geological Survey, Massachusetts Cooperative F&W Research Unit, Short-tailed albatross Recovery: As a founding member of the Short-tailed Albatross Recovery Team, Dr. Paul Sievert has been applauded for his leadership and involvement in albatrossrecovery efforts. Dr. Sievert has been the eyes, ears, and scientific expert for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on recovery initiatives for the species in Japan and the United States. He has been cited for his "incredible positive attitude, coupled with indisputable expertise in albatross biology and mastery of field techniques." He has traveled to Torishima Island and engaged in satellite-tagging the birds. Dr. Sievert's skills enabled the recovery team to model different scenarios, ultimately generating a consensus on measurable and defensible draft and final recovery criteria. Since he began his work, the global population of the short-tailed albatross has increased at a remarkable 7percent per year! For more info on this award: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/recovery/champions/index.html...
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New website promotes NRC’s Green Building study programs

A new website has been launched by the Building Materials and Wood Technology (BMATWT) program that promotes the green building study opportunities currently offered by BMATWT in NRC. This site features a description of graduate and continuing education (available soon) programs as well as various articles written by BMATWT faculty. Furthermore, exemplary student projects will be showcased. If you are interested in studying with us, follow the directions on the site to learn more about admission requirements, study requirements and the application procedure. For more information, go to: http://gb.eco.umass.edu  ...
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