Cornell Cooperative Extension Opportunity - Master Forest Owner Volunteer Training
Have you ever thought about using your knowledge and skills to help your neighbor woodland owners? Join the hundreds of woodland owners who have served their neighbors since 1993.
As a woodland owner you have a unique perspective and status that allows you to serve as a peer-to-peer counselor to help other woodland owners in your area. Your existing skills are enhanced by educational resources available through Cornell Cooperative Extension and Cornell University’s ForestConnect program.
Learn how to merge your skills with existing resources so you can be a volunteer that helps other woodland owners more thoroughly enjoy and manage their property. You are invited to the annual training for Cornell’s Master Forest Owner (MFO) volunteers. MFO volunteers work through Cornell Cooperative Extension to visit woodland owners in their county and direct them towards resources that help them manage their woodlands. This training is open for new volunteers and previously trained volunteers seeking a refresher.
Applicants selected to participate will join in 7 weekly online sessions via Zoom, and subsequently meet in person in May/June for a one-day field session at one of multiple locations within the state. Online sessions are 6:30 – 7:30PM Tuesdays March 11 through April 22. We encourage you to participate in all 7 sessions, but we also realize that life sometimes complicates our schedules. These sessions include 2 orientation sessions and 5 technical content sessions which provide participants with increased knowledge about: woodland ecology and health, wildlife and habitat, interfering vegetation management, silviculture, and agroforestry. Participants should plan to allocate 3-4 hours per week to learn the technical content via guided online learning before they spend an hour per week in an online interactive discussion session.
All woodland owners in NY are welcome. The fee is $35 per person and $50 per couple which includes the full training and supplies and resources provided at the field session. Previously trained volunteers are also welcome at $18/person and $25/couple.
For consideration to participate in the training, follow these steps to be completed by March 4:
- Review background materials (background) and training information (training).
- Complete application through this link to an online form https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a2WAhwsIWWPRrhk
- Be alert to an email from your regional director to meet via Zoom after completing your application.
- If you have not been previously visited by an MFO volunteer, please request a visit here https://blogs.cornell.edu/ccemfo/find-a-volunteer/is-a-master-forest-owner-volunteer-the-right-person-to-visit-your-forest-or-woods/
Within 6 months of the training:
- If you were not visited prior to the training, have a visit on your property conducted by an existing MFO volunteer (for newly trained volunteers).
- Shadow a visit with a local MFO volunteer to a woodland owner in your area.
If you have any questions about the MFO program, you can learn more at www.CornellMFO.info or from Program Director Peter Smallidge at pjs23 [at] cornell.edu or 607-592-3640. You can also contact the Regional Director for your county here.
