Hidden Histories of Forestry: Rethinking the Founding, Education, and Impact within American Forestry

Learning Objectives:

• Upon completion, participants will be able to describe a more complicated understanding of the history of forestry education and demonstrate a broader appraisal of how forgotten and marginalized historical figures were involved and impacted forestry training and education in the United States beyond the traditional narrative.
• Upon completion, attendees will be able to identify and communicate that forestry education began long before it was professionalized in the 19th century and that forestry programs and curriculum were informed by several men and women typically omitted from the story. Participants will be able to explain how a broader understanding of a more diverse past can inform how we talk about forestry issues today.
• Upon completion, participants will be able to describe how past men and women reached varied audiences through community outreach by connecting trees, scientific management, and cultural values that can impact today’s concerns with managing messaging. Participants will also be able to recount how underrecognized groups and lesser-known individuals reached wide-ranging audiences to awaken their interest in forestry and careers, which can inform how we build capacity today as well as recruit, hire, and retain a diverse workforce by demonstrating that forestry and its educational paths have a more diverse past.