By: Aaron Donato ‘25 MF
Dearest Family,
I hope this letter finds you well, as I write you from camp at Yale-Myers Forest. I am in the 8th week of the Apprentice Forester Program, or “Forest Crew” as the nine of us often refer to ourselves as. It gives me great pleasure to say that the structured curriculum of this apprenticeship is endowing me with the hands-on skills needed to become a practicing forester. The camaraderie amongst the crew, as well the fun and quaint nature of camp life, has made for a very memorable summer.
We have faculty guidance from those who know the extensive 7,840-acre forest better than almost anyone, Mark Ashton, Morris K. Jesup Professor of Silviculture and Forest Ecology and director of Yale Forests, and Joe Orefice, lecturer and director of forest and agricultural operations. On a day-to-day basis, we are out in the field with direct supervision from our crew leader and forest manager, Gracie Bachmann ’23 MF.
Crew kicked off the summer with Game of Logging training to get familiar with using a chainsaw, and each of us in turn felled a tree using this technique. In addition to gaining a useful skill, this felt like a rite of passage as well. The following weeks of road maintenance took us out across the forest and was crucial, hard work to allow us access to the trees we are working with.
Our crew has the decadal task of collecting data from Continuous Forest Inventory plots which has really made us familiar with Yale-Myers. We use sometimes 70-year-old instructions (5 chains west of a cellar hole) to find empty bottles marking the center point from which the plots are surveyed. These plots allow us to see how our forest is growing and changing on decade intervals. Finding these plots can feel like a treasure hunt, and we have left some fun “easter eggs” for the crew of 2034 to find.
Much of our time is spent in the Plusnin Division of the forest, where we conducted an inventory, analyzed our data, and have written and implemented prescriptions for thinning and regeneration. We will then mark and tally the timber for a future sale. Don’t worry, maintaining species diversity is always one of our top silvicultural goals. At first, we labored over decisions of what trees to remove, but we are getting more of a rhythm, as the only way to gain this experience is to be in the field doing it. Mark, Joe, and Gracie are always there when we feel uncertain or need some ‘training wheels.’ It can be a tough and emotional decision to remove a tree, and we are striving to get it right.
The setting to work in provides moments to hone skills as a naturalist and also appreciate the beauty of the forest. Moments like this can be downright sublime. Just some of the sounds alone are beautiful, like a wood thrush singing along Boston Hollow, or the cacophony of barred owls caterwauling, and coyotes howling which is somehow both haunting and serene. We are treated to beautiful sights, a dragonfly emerging from its larval stage or a porcupine lazing in a sumac.
The rugged hard work is paired with summer fun and friendships. We have a good time in the field, pondering pun-ny names for our timber sales and nicknames for each other. Life in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut sees trips to Bigelow Hollow for post work swimming and trips to Buck’s for soft serve in our big green van. Movie nights, communal dinners, runs to the Eastford Dump, and some minor league baseball games have solidified friendships that will last a lifetime.
Your Son,
Aaron
P.S. – Don’t worry Mom, Kumba’s delicious cooking is keeping me well fed and nourished.
Crew learns how to orienteer, an important skill for navigating the forest and surveying CFI plots, May 28, 2024. Photo: Gracie Bachmann.
Nate McMullen ’25 MF and Owen Klein ’25 MF, calibrate a pair of calipers, an important tool used for measuring the diameter at breast height of a tree, June 26, 2024. Photo: Leah Snavely.
2024 Forest Crew and researchers. Photo: Kirsten Rohan.
Forest Crew and researchers celebrate their summer with a banquet. Photo: Gracie Bachmann.
