Small woodlots are a big deal. Owners of only a few acres can make a positive difference in their environment through planning and implementing simple management practices. The Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program, a Virginia Cooperative Extension activity in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources, is offering a workshop targeted to owners of woodlots one to 10 acres in size.

This workshop will use the newly published manual, The Woods in Your Backyard: Learning to Create and Enhance Natural Areas Around Your Home, to help small woodlot owners identify goals for their land — such as converting lawn to forest, creating wildlife habitat, or providing a useful outdoor space for family use — and offer guidance to achieve them.

While the vast majority of forest landowners own less than 10 acres, large or small woodlots are all vital. Tree covered ground is the single best land use for providing clean water, as well as and offering many additional benefits, such as carbon sequestration, improved air quality, wildlife habitat, biomass opportunities, recreational outlets, and more.

This workshop will be held on Saturday, May 16, at the Grace Episcopal Church in Kilmarnock, Va. The class runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; check-in begins at 8 a.m. Registration, which includes lunch, refreshments, and The Woods in Your Backyard workbook, is $25 per person or $35 per couple sharing materials. To register, send a check payable to Tidewater RC&D Council, 772 Richmond Beach Road, Tappahannock, VA 22560, by May 9.

Find more information The Woods in Your Backyard manual. For workshop information, contact Jennifer Gagnon (mailto: jgagnon@vt.edu), Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program Coordinator, at (540) 231-6391, or visit the calendar page.

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