Despite forward progress, the forestry community in Maine is still dominated by male personalities. This is true whether we’re speaking about loggers, foresters, and even to some degree, landowners.

“But increasingly over the past two decades we see women landowners taking on more and more of the decision making responsibilities with regard to small woodland management,” said Maine District Forester Patty Cormier.

A portion of that growing group of women gathered at Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson on May 8 for a full-day class called “Women and Their Woods.”

As the women all introduced themselves, they shared something about their experiences and what they hoped to gain from the class.  “I just don’t know what I don’t know, and so I haven’t gotten started,” said Sue Hall, a student. Her comment was echoed by others throughout the morning. This class was designed to give women of all ages and experiences a chance to gain some of that knowledge needed to be effective stewards, but also to give them the confidence to start asking questions.

The group of 20 worked with two Maine District Foresters, Barrie Brusila of Mid-Maine Forestry, and Bambi Jones of HVNC over the course of the day covering a thorough agenda that featured discussion and lecture as well as time in HVNC’s managed forest. “The best thing we can do is give you all the tools to think critically and intelligently about your woodlands, and the language to convey your objectives to working professionals,” said Brusila.

Brusila, along with her husband, started Mid-Maine Forestry a forest consulting business over two decades ago and she has been a strong advocate for women taking leadership roles in forest management. She is also the forester for HVNC.

The goal of this program was to get women “engaged and excited about the process of forest management and I think we did that” said Bambi Jones, HVNC co-founder and one of the leaders that day. The course was designed to cover many topics generally and to give the students a sense of the resources available to them as they decide to move forward. After nearly eight hours of instruction and conversation the students left smiling and brimming with ideas about future work in their own woods.

HVNC offers many programs throughout the year aimed at engaging individuals at all levels in the forest. HVNC was named the 2014 Outstanding Tree Farmer in Maine and will host Tree Farm Field Days on September 6. “Women and Their Woods” received support from Maine Tree Farm, Coastal Enterprises, Maine Farmland Trust, MOFGA, and Davis Conservation Fund.

For more information about HVNC’s events, or to find out how you can support HVNC visit www.hvnc.org, write to info@hvnc.org, or call 207-200-8840.