Grow it Garden in Maryland

University of Maryland offering tree care course

Details

Published on Friday, 22 June 2012 09:04

Written by Karen Gaspers

Want to learn more about your backyard trees, including how to protect them from disease and insects? This fall, the University of Maryland Extension will offer a General Forestry Course that covers all this and more.

The forestry course teaches participants how to protect your trees from insects, diseases and fire; walks you through step-by-step procedures to conduct a forest inventory and stand analysis; and presents the details of the forestry business, including tax nuances and the sale and harvest of forest products. Ultimately, the course exercises help you develop the framework for a management plan for your forest.

The course begins Sept. 1 and runs until Dec. 15. Registration opens July 1. The University of Maryland Extension will offer both the paper and the online versions of the course. To register, go to mdforest.umd.edu.

There are no formal classes. Participants work from the comfort of their own home using thier own woodlot, a friend's, or a public forest. The cost for this forestry course is normally $300. However, the University of Maryland Extension is offering the course at a $25 discount during the month of July, making the cost $275 through July 31. The cost goes back up to $300 on Aug. 1. Late registration (Sept. 2-14) is $400.

Included in the cost are copies of the supplemental readings ("A Sand County Almanac," "The Woodland Steward," "American Forests: A History of Resiliency," and "Recovery," as well as a small pamphlet entitled "What Tree Is That?"). The paper version text and appendices are in binder form. Online users receive a flash drive of the paper version of the text and appendices for use as a reference after the course ends. A certificate of completion is awarded when all assignments are completed.

Visit the website (mdforest.umd.edu) to read a lesson from the text, view an interactive exercise, read through detailed course information and FAQs to decide if the course is right for you.

For more information, contact Nancy Stewart at the University of Maryland Extension, Wye Research and Education Center,  Queenstown. Phone: 410/827-8056, ext. 107. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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