More than just a walk in the woods: Auburn University’s War Eagle Woods project is natural resource outreach and education for the 21st century

Background/Question/Methods

Cooperative Extension professionals and Land Grant Universities have an environmental education responsibility to the public.  Getting that message to those who need it most has become increasingly problematic.  In the mid-20^th century, county Extension offices and forestry field days met a great deal of this need.  Landowners and land managers would meet with natural resource professionals to learn the latest techniques and view demonstrations on working forests.  In the last ten years, however, how and when individuals want to receive information on natural resource management has shifted.  Increasingly, individuals count on the Internet for information.  In 2010, it was reported that 70 percent of homes in the United States had internet access.  When it comes to information on the environment, 83 percent of students and almost all adults get their information from the media nationwide.  At the same time, conversations with Alabama Cooperative Extension System employees and other land management professionals show that, in general, participation in traditional face-to-face meetings and field days has dropped in recent years.  The intent of this project was to take a traditionally managed University forest property and shift management and content delivery methods to meet the current needs of the public.

Results/Conclusions

War Eagle Woods is an ongoing project where Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences is transforming the management, outreach, and accessibility of its forestlands while incorporating undergraduate student service learning activities.  Traditional forest management demonstrations of Southern pine plantation management are being adapted to incorporate non-timber management objectives such as pine straw production, which can in turn be harvested and sold to benefit the School’s student clubs.  Through the development of creative and interactive activities such as Frisbee golf interpretive trails, natural resource education is no longer just a “walk in the woods”.  Students in a Natural Resources Interpretation course are developing interpretive signs to use in these areas.  In addition, natural resource outreach information will be available to the public through online virtual forest tours.  Forest Ecology and Measurements students are developing “TED talk” style videos which will reinforce concepts of sustainability, best management practices, and multiple-use-management.  These talks will guide the public through an on-line, virtual tour of Alabama’s natural and cultural history, past forest land use, forest management techniques, and forest measurements activities.  As the project progresses, documentation of forest management and restoration activities on the School’s forests will also be available online.