[Sust-mar] Fwd: Mapping Forest Communities with Peter Neily and Steve Harder, October 6th, 1pm

[Michelle Ferris]

Dear Friends,

Please join us for the next edition of Talking Forests: Mapping Forest
Communities with Peter Neily and Steve Harder, which will take
place Sunday, October 6, 2013, 1:00-4:00pm, MacBeth Road, near Scotsburn,
Pictou County.

 Help us identify and map some of the forest communities on the Friends of
Redtail Society land in western Pictou County. In doing so, you will learn
about the trees and other plants that form communities, and the forest
ecology that links them together.

Peter Neily, co-author of the Forest Ecosystem Classification (FEC) for
Nova Scotia, is a forest ecologist with the Natural Resources Department in
Truro where he helped develop the province’s FEC system. At the stand
level, which is the focus of the Redtail event, classifying ecosystems
based on vegetation, soil and site attributes allows for recognition of
similar forest communities – and increased understanding.

Steve Harder, co-founder of Legacy Forest, has a background in
environmental studies and has learned about forests mainly by observing
what occurs on his family’s woodland. He and wife Deborah started Legacy
Forest as a way to encourage small woodlot owners to voluntarily set aside
part of their forest for conservation.

We will walk part of the Redtail lands and identify two or more forest
communities. These will then be recorded as a community map, which will
become a future community resource. Participants will work in small groups,
looking for changes in trees, plants, mosses, landscapes and soils as a way
to locate the boundaries of forest communities. Participants should come
dressed for the outdoors and the day’s weather conditions. Sturdy footwear
with good tread is recommended as the terrain is hilly and rugged.

The group will meet at the bridge on MacBeth Road. Talking Forests is a
free educational series, but contributions may be made to assist with
offsetting program costs. For more information visit www.friendsofredtail.ca


*
*
*The Friends of Redtail Society is a grass-roots, non-profit organization
formed in 2006 to pursue a community-based solution to an industrial forest
clear cut that was scheduled to take place in an upland watershed in
western Pictou County. Through the group's actions, a successful
fundraising and awareness campaign was mounted and the Society was able to
purchase the land, becoming both a guardian and student of the forest.
**Through
its "Sheltering Forests" campaign, the Society is engaging community in the
process of reclaiming, re-visioning and restoring its relationship with the
forest. *

--
Michelle Ferris
Friends of Redtail Society
RR#2 Scotsburn NS
B0K 1R0