Woodland Management
The courses and workshops in the Woodland Management series bring participants into the forested areas of the farm to gain a fresh perspective on what assets the woodlands contain.
“I highly recommend the Chainsaw Skills Training introductory course to anyone who would like to learn the basics or simply improve upon or hone their skills. The instructor, Rick, is excellent. He demonstrates and then guides participants through practice, letting them do the work under his eagle eye. I learned so much that I find myself analyzing trees on my own property to determine if I can cut them down, how they would fall, and where would I stack the brush!”
Special notice: our Woodland Management offerings may qualify as CAIP educational components. Check with your local extension agent. We are happy to provide any needed information for the process.
Fundamentals of Chainsaw Use
SEPT 19 session full; waitlist option
SEPT 26 session full; waitlist option
Cost: $50.00
This day-long workshop is designed for participants with no prior experience in using a power chainsaw. This is where you start if you’d like to learn more about adopting a chainsaw into your woodland work toolbox. We start our day building a personal first aid kit focused on managing the types of injuries expected for working in the woods. Following that, we will spend time in the shop learning basic maintenance and saw chain sharpening along with how to properly fit your personal protective equipment. Once we are geared up, we head to the log yard where we learn about the reactive forces associated with using the saw and then crosscut some logs into firewood sized blocks. Finally, we head to the woods to find some projects such as clearing trails, cleaning up downed trees, removing invasive plants, and felling some small diameter trees. Once we return to the shop, we will break down the saws, clean them thoroughly, and store them for their next use.
9am - 5pm
*Limit 4 participants
Practical Farm Woodland Management
OCT 2-3 (session full; waitlist option)
Cost: $100
This immersive, hands-on workshop is designed to help you think through a variety of ideas to manage your farm woodlands, not just for timber, but as a thriving, healthy ecological system. We will go beyond basic forestry delving into the fascinating world of forest ecology to provide you with an understanding of how woodlands function and how your management decisions impact their future. PFWM is ideal for small to mid-sized woodland owners, farmers, and anyone interested in sustainable land management and the ecological health of forest ecosystems. No prior forestry experience is required, though a basic understanding of land management principles will be helpful.
Topics covered includes: understanding the woodland ecosystem, assessing woodland health, sustainable timber harvesting, on-farm power systems for processing timber, navigating the complexities of a timber sale, integrating woodlands into farm operations, and select topics in Agroforestry.
Format: Highly interactive workshop combining classroom discussions with significant time spent outdoors in a diverse woodland setting. Expect hands-on activities, practical demonstrations, and opportunities for group discussion and problem-solving. Please come prepared for walking on uneven terrain and in various weather conditions.
Friday 9am-4pm, Saturday 9am-3pm
*Limit 8 participants
Hand Tools for Woodland Work
NOV 7-8
Cost $100
This two-day workshop is ideal for anyone interested in working in the woods with traditional forestry hand tools. It offers guided training for the selection, care, maintenance, and use of different types of axes, crosscut saws, hedging tools, log handling tools, and other edge tools associated with processing woodland material into useful products. Beginning at the workbench, we will learn axe design and edge geometry, how to choose the right axe for specific uses and sharpening systems to create a strong, working, and long-lasting cutting edge. We take a look at crosscut saws and learn a bit about their care and sharpening before we head to the woods to learn tree felling, de-limbing and chopping techniques. Once we’ve accumulated some wood, we focus on processing raw logs into useful material such as hewn beams for building, riving and splitting logs for greenwood projects, and creating billets for wood carving and turning. Following two days of hand work, you should have a very keen understanding of how to select, care for, and properly use a variety of simple hand tools to harvest and process woodland materials into usable products for the home and hearth.
Saturday 9am-4pm, Sunday 9am-3pm
*Limit 4 participants
Green Woodworking Series: Spoon Carving
NOV 10 session full; waitlist option
Cost: $50.00
Our first green woodworking series launches with a day of greenwood spoon carving from a freshly felled tree. We begin with a walk out into the forest to understand how trees grow, what type of tree yields the best spoon blanks, and which part of the tree to harvest for a given spoon form. We then head back to the shop to spend a bit of time sharpening and honing our tools, learning knife grips, axe safety and use. Next up: carving a cooking spoon from a prepared billet. Toward the end of the day, we will take a round piece of wood and use a carving axe to create another spoon billet for you to take home and carve your next spoon. *NOTE: All tools provided
9am - 5pm
*Limit 6 participants
![[photo by Ben Aguilar] Three people on the left work with a person on the right to make sure a log is placed correctly on a portable sawmill.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/634f02e629cad13894354f54/90978793-1b3d-4e6a-8dfe-b9628b739e5a/Logs+to+Lumber+10-26-24-2.jpg)
Logs to Lumber
DEC 12 session full; waitlist option
Cost: $50
This one-day workshop is designed for individuals interested in learning how to utilize a farm tractor forestry winch to haul timber from the woods and to operate a portable sawmill to turn logs into lumber. Participants will delve into topics such as: utilizing a farm tractor winch for log handling and transportation, log selection and preparation, log scaling, operating a simple bandsaw mill effectively, understanding sawing techniques for different lumber products, ensuring safety protocols during the milling process, and maximizing the use of lumber produced. By the end of this workshop, participants will have the skills and knowledge to confidently transform logs into lumber using a portable sawmill and farm tractor winch, adding value to their farm operations and projects.
9am-5pm
*Limit 4 participants.
Chainsaw Skills Training: Introduction to Chainsaw Safety and Directional Felling
NOV 28-29
DEC 5-6
DEC 19-20 (Women’s only)
Cost: $100
This intensive two-day training is appropriate for any woodland owner or farm worker operating a power chainsaw. The workshop introduces basic chainsaw maintenance, saw chain sharpening, personal protective equipment, modern tree felling techniques, limbing, and bucking trees to length.
Format: Each day, this training begins and ends in the shop and practice area where key discussion topics are covered; the practical portion of the workshop takes place in the woods.
Note: If you do not have any chainsaw experience whatsoever, please enroll in the Fundamentals of Chainsaw Use as a prerequisite for this course.
Saturday 9am-4pm, Sunday 9am-3pm
*Limit 4 participants
Chainsaw Skills Training: Advanced Tree Felling
This workshop will return in the Winter/Spring 2027 season
Cost: $100
This intensive two-day training is appropriate for farm woodland owners and farm workers interested in advancing their power chainsaw use to include felling difficult trees, bucking stems to maximize value, extraction of logs with a farm tractor and forestry winch, and removal of storm damaged-and-downed trees.
Format: Each day, this training begins and ends in the shop and practice area where key discussion topics are covered; the practical portion of the course takes place in the woods.
Prerequisite: Introduction Level. You’ll receive an invoice to complete your registration once your prerequisite requirement has been verified.
Saturday 9am-4pm, Sunday 9am-3pm
*Limit 4 participants
Woodland Management for Wildlife Habitat
This workshop will return in the Spring 2027
Cost: $25
This half-day workshop is for individuals looking to enhance wildlife habitat on their woodlands through effective management techniques. Participants will delve into topics such as understanding wildlife species and their habitat requirements, assessing current woodland conditions, implementing sustainable forestry practices to promote biodiversity, creating wildlife corridors and shelter belts, managing invasive species for habitat improvement, and incorporating wildlife-friendly practices into woodland stewardship. By the end of this workshop, participants will gain the knowledge and practical skills needed to optimize their woodlands for wildlife habitat improvement while fostering a healthy and diverse ecosystem.
10am-2pm
*Limit 8 participants