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Master Forest Owner Volunteer Training

• Tuesday, March 11, 2025, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
• Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
• Tuesday, March 25, 2025, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
• Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
• Tuesday, April 15, 2025, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
• Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Have you ever thought about using your knowledge and skill 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 to April 22. We hope you can attend all these sessions, but we’re realistic enough to know that life happens sometimes. These sessions include 2 orientation sessions and 5 technical content sessions which provide participants 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.

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 registration application (apply) . Please contact Kristopher Williams kbw44@cornell.edu before registering to learn more about the requirements of the program.

Be alert to an email from your regional director to meet via Zoom after completing your application.

Payment will be made via a secure online link provided to you after you talk with your regional director.

For newly trained volunteers, if you haven’t received an MFO visit to your property, please request one 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@cornell.edu or 607-592-3640. You can also contact the Regional Director for your county here.

Previously trained volunteers are also welcome at $18/person and $25/couple.

Fee

$35.00 Per Person or $50 Per Couple

Last updated February 11, 2025