Brooke Gauthier Joins Cooperative Extension as a County Farm Woodlot Intern

Working at Rockingham, Merrimack and Carroll County Farms

Monday, June 03, 2019

Hello Fellow Cooperative Extension Colleagues and Friends,

My name is Brooke Gauthier. I am a senior undergraduate student at the University of New Hampshire majoring in Environmental Conservation and Sustainability with two minors, Forestry and Wildlife Conservation and Biology. I chose this major, and the two minors, because I love spending my time outdoors and interacting with my environment, as most nature lovers do. I want to preserve the resources we have and diminish the stresses humans put on the environment, while providing for a good standard living.

I’m originally from Connecticut, but my heart belongs to New Hampshire, leading to me work and live in this beautiful state. This past spring semester I spent my time studying abroad in New Zealand, through the UNH program EcoQuest, where I learned about restoration ecology, biogeography, policy and was a part of a directed research project. After completing my degree in Environmental Conservation and Sustainability, I plan to go to grad school for Forestry.

This summer

I’m proud to announce that this summer I will be working under the supervision of extension forestry specialist Karen Bennett as a county farm forestry intern. I will also be working alongside county foresters Greg Jordan, Wendy Scribner and Tim Fleury. With these foresters, I hope to extend my knowledge in forest inventory and planning, boundary maintenance, trails mapping and management, timber sale marking and wildlife habitat improvement. I will also be posting to this Facebook page at least once a week about my learnings and impactful experiences in the field or office.

My learnings

Thus far, I have spent time with Greg Jordan prism cruising a stand on Rockingham County Farm property in Brentwood. I've learned different techniques in getting tree diameter and saw log estimates. I also went on a woodlot visit with Greg, showing me how county foresters can help local residents manage their woodlands and get valuable information on how to log or improve their land. Lastly, I attended a bioblitz at Stratham Hill Park where I helped fourth graders identify trees and learn about ecological processes. I am very excited to see what else the internship has in store for me and can’t wait to share my findings with the rest of you.