The UF/IFAS School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences extension team is excited to announce the launch of a new Forest Health Module in the Online Forest Landowner Academy. Those already enrolled in the course have full access to the new module.
The Forest Landowner Academy
The Forest Landowner Academy is an award-winning, asynchronous online course offered by the UF/IFAS School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences on the UF/IFAS Extension Online Learning catalog. Forest Landowners and others in need of forest management information, are encouraged to enroll to connect with forest management experts at the University of Florida and partner institutions and agencies to receive quality core educational content on forestry and multiple-use stewardship concepts.
Gain comprehensive knowledge and skills related to forest resources and active management. The eight course modules cover key forest resource, management, and stewardship topics including:
- Understanding your forest resources
- Developing your management plan
- Timber management
- Marketing forest products
- Other forest enterprises such as pine straw and hunting leases
- Wildlife management
- Planning for the future
- Forest Health
Each module includes recorded video presentations from the field or virtual classroom, other videos, reference materials, and an assessment questionnaire where you can apply what you’ve learned to your land or situation and begin or continue planning and making contacts.
Introducing the New Forest Health Module
Module 8, the Forest Health Module, includes presentations, video, and print resources about what forest health means, the important diseases and insects to watch for in your pine stands, and what to do if you detect a problem. You’ll learn about the life cycles of fungal pathogens like fusiform rust and pitch canker, how to identify infected tree tissues, how to distinguish them, how you can minimize risks of infection, and what to do if you have infected trees. You’ll also learn about the most important pine beetles that can impact our pine stands, like the southern pine beetle; why and how they will enter and damage pine trees, which pine species and stand conditions are most susceptible, and how you can minimize risks.
We introduce three new course instructors in this module:
Dr. Caterina Villari is a forest health specialist at the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Her lab is interested in understanding the interactions among trees, fungal pathogens and insect herbivores, with particular attention to chemical ecological aspects. They study how disturbances influence the pathogen/host interaction and use cutting-edge molecular techniques to detect pathogens directly in the field.
Colton Meinecke is a research associate in Dr. Villari’s Forest Pathology Lab at the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. As a member of that lab he is interested in understanding the interactions among trees, fungal pathogens, and insect herbivores. His research is in the areas of forest health, forest biology and protection, biotechnology, molecular biology, and genetics.
Jeff Eickwort is a biologist and supervisor of the Forest Health Section, Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services, Florida Forest Service. The Forest Health Section is a team of biologists, foresters, and administrative support staff with responsibility for programs and activities related to pests, diseases, and invasive plants affecting forests and shade trees in Florida. In addition to leading this team, he also provides technical training to other agencies and forest stakeholders and is involved in the production of technical and informational literature to provide timely information to Florida’s forestry community and citizens.
“The addition of the forest health module to the academy truly rounds out the program,” said SFFGS Associate Professor of Forest Systems and Extension Specialist Michael Andreu, Ph.D.
“We have brought in experts on common insects and diseases landowners may encounter and provide them with the most current scientific understanding of how to address them. We heard from our graduates that this was something they wanted to learn more about and we responded to fill this gap to provide one of the most comprehensive experiences for landowners regardless of if they are new to this topic or have decades of experience.”
ProForest Coordinator and co-organizer on this module Tyler Carney, Ph.D. said the new module was designed to bring awareness and foster discussion on select forest health issues in the Southeastern Coastal Plain.
“Forests are under threat from various stressors such as invasive species, diseases, drought, and major storms to name just a few,” Carney said.
“This module covers select pine bark beetles and a few key diseases including pitch canker and brown spot needle blight. We want landowners to feel empowered both in identifying signs of forest health issues and in managing them where applicable.”
Carney added, “We thank our generous partners Caterina Villari, Ph.D. and Colton D. Meinecky from the University of Georgia, and Jeff Eickwort from the Florida Forest Service for producing content for the module.”
Enroll in the Forest Landowner Academy
In addition to being better prepared and equipped to be good stewards of their forest resources, those completing the course will earn a University of Florida Certificate of Completion. The enrollment fee is $150.
This course will be relevant for Florida landowners as well as those in the neighboring coastal plain regions of GA and AL. Landowners can build on this course as they receive information and attend educational events offered by the Florida Land Steward Program and other partners in Florida and neighboring states.
Enroll in the Forest Landowner Academy today on the Extension Online Learning Canvas Catalog:
Forest Landowner Academy – Forest Resources and Management (instructure.com)
For more information, contact:
Chris Demers at cdemers@ufl.edu, 352.846.2375 or
Dr. Michael Andreu, mandreu@ufl.edu
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