More than 500 people have attended the Center’s free Building the New Forest Future webinar series in the past year, hearing inspiring stories and learning practical strategies for creating more vibrant Northern Forest communities.

 “We’ve held seven webinars so far, each covering a topic important to community and regional success,” said Maura Adams, Director of Community Investment. “Unlike a standard webinar model with static presentations from each panelist, our webinars set up a conversation between leaders that allows for rich exchange and meaningful audience engagement.”  

Reflecting the complexity of community revitalization, webinar themes are diverse but complementary. This mix of topics clearly resonates with participants, most of whom have attended more than one of the seven webinars held to date.  

Each webinar has touched on a different aspect of what makes a community thrive. The first webinar, The New Forest Future, introduced the series and why this community development work is important. Since then, 25 panelists have shared insights on their areas of expertise, including:  

Our website has descriptions, panelists, and recordings for each webinar for you to watch at your convenience.  

“I really appreciated the webinar conversation and the opportunity to share a little bit of information related to Access Fund’s work,” said Mike Morin, Northeast Regional Director of the Access Fund. “Since first becoming aware of the Center… I’ve been impressed with the work you all are spearheading and supporting. My recent interactions with the Bucks Ledge Community Forest planning process have been equally inspiring with respect to the professionalism and service that the Center staff are bringing to the table in support of community driven efforts.”  

 The next webinar, on Nov. 15, focuses on Stewarding Community Forests; practitioners from across the region will discuss the value of community-owned and -managed forests and how to develop them. Registration is open now.  

Other series’ webinars in development include Ensuring Climate Resilience, Encouraging Entrepreneurship, and Cultivating Young Leaders.  

The Center is also running a series of webinars related to the forest economy. The series, Today’s Northern Forest Economy, features industry experts and businesses leaders who explore topics that affect the forest products economy of our region, such as federal policies, workforce challenges, technological innovations, and forest stewardship. The next webinar, Heating Up: The Outlook for Wood Heat, on Oct. 19, 12:00 to 1:30 PM, will address the state of the wood heat sector in New England and New York.  The webinar is free but registration is required.