ESFPA E-News

2024 Arbor Day Poster Contest

The 2024 Arbor Day Poster Contest is still open for submissions.

Each year the public is invited to submit photography and/or artwork to be considered for the State Arbor Day Poster. DEC prints thousands of posters for distribution to the 3,500 NYS schools, the NYS Fair, and other venues. It is a long-time tradition and the posters have become collector's items for many.

Contest Rules:

• Both photographs and original artwork (paintings, drawings, etc.) may be submitted.
• Photographs must be taken in New York State, and artwork must be of a NYS location.
• Healthy trees without major defects tend to receive preference in judging.
• Photos or digital scans of artwork must be submitted electronically and the quality must be at least 300 dpi at 8"x10" and generally 1 MB or larger
• Model consent forms are required for any person who is a focus of a photo, or if the photo features a partially or wholly visible face or likeness.
  • Assume that model consent is required.
• Only one submission per person is allowed.
• Submissions must be received by 12/31/2023.

To submit your photography and/or artwork you must:

• Complete the online submission form, which includes a place to upload your image file.
• Complete a model consent form (PDF) for any distinguishable persons in the photo and upload to the submission form.
• If you have any issues with the submission form, email: arborday@dec.ny.gov for assistance.

Click the link below to learn more about Arbor Day and the poster contest:

NYC Urban Forest Market

A design studio in New York City called Stickbulb is creating light fixtures using wood salvaged from the city's urban forest. 

New York City removes more than 10,000 from the seven-million strong stock of trees in the city each year. Typically, the wood collected from the trees ends up being mulched or sent to one of the local landfills. When Stickbulb was made aware of this waste, they decided to try and save the wood, turning the wood waste into beautiful products.

They state that it's "the smartest, lowest-carbon material we could possibly be working with" and that "it's all about reducing waste and raising the profile of salvage – and trying to mainstream it." 

Although there is only one design currently in production, there are hopes to scale up the project in the future to include more of the salvaged wood. They also hope to expand the pilot so that the money for production could also go towards a more robust forestry program in the city. This could create a circular economy around wood that also incorporates the deaths of trees, which is usually overlooked in favor of planting and maintenance.

Read the full article by clicking the link below:

NELA Industry Award Nominations

Through their annual awards program, the Northeastern Loggers’ Association (NELA) strives to recognize significant industry achievement in eleven categories. A maximum of one award will be given in each category. There may be circumstances when no awards are given in a category or categories. A plaque will be awarded in each of the categories.

To be eligible for one of those awards, or to make a nomination, the person or organization need not be a member of the Northeastern Loggers’ Association. An individual can nominate themselves or their organization, or it may be done by an outside party. The nominee must reside or conduct business in the Northeast and Lake States. Awards are presented each year at the Loggers’ Banquet held just prior to the Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Exposition. 

NELA will be accepting nominations through January 31st.

Click the link below to read more about the different award categories:

Environmental Groups Zero in on Small Woodlots as Part of Larger Carbon Offsets Initiative

From the Adirondack Explorer

Environmental organizations are increasingly focusing on landowners to help with the storage of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. A new carbon offset program has just hit the Adirondacks, which offers cash to woodlot owners. 

As of 2018, nearly half of forests in the region are stewarded by families, data from the U.S. Forest Service shows. Trapped above and below ground in the natural ecosystems are high amounts of carbon dioxide stored temporarily until a disturbance releases the gas. 

The vast carbon sinks are looked at by many scientists as natural climate solutions that can help reach ambitious climate goals such as those set in New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. 

“We really need natural climate solutions to meet these huge state goals that we have,” Michelle Brown, senior conservation scientist for The Nature Conservancy in New York, said. “So, a lot of the natural climate solutions depend on private landowners taking action on their property.”

As of November, the program is rolling out across the North Country. About 1 million acres of land in Adirondack counties are eligible for the program.

Click the link below to read the full article:

Climate Adaptation/Forest Carbon Silviculture Institute Module

Available online for free

On October 11-12 of this year, 50 foresters attended graduate level training in Climate Adaptation and Forest Carbon in a new Module of the Northeast Silviculture Institute for Foresters. Funded through the USDA Forest Service grant that created the Securing Northeast Forest Carbon Program effort, the entire training program was video recorded.  All the materials are now available for free to everyone and can be accessed through the link below.  An important note is that ALL the Institute materials and videos are now available for free at that site.

The Northeast Silviculture Institute for Foresters was original developed in 2017 and held 10 days of graduate level silviculture training for foresters in each of 2017 and 2018. All of that training is still online and can also be found through the link below. The original training was funded by the USDA Forest Service and some private donors and was part of the USDA Forest Service’s National Advanced Silviculture Program (NASP).  

For more info contact Charles Levesque at levesque@inrsllc.com

See all Institute materials and videos through the link below: