Spring Comes to Yale-Myers Forest

The coronavirus crisis has kept many F&ES students and researchers away from Yale-Myers Forest this spring. Fortunately, Joseph Orefice ’09 M.F., a lecturer and director of forest and agricultural operations at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, this week shared a series of videos that offer a glimpse of life in the forest during this unprecedented time.

It turns out, life carries on at the forest as it always has.

“This is one of the most enjoyable times for me to be in the forest,” Orefice says of being at the forest during the spring. “Life starts coming back and you’re reminded the forests continue to function without us.”

In the videos, Orefice, who teaches courses in agroforestry and forest management, shares a glimpse of spring awakening at the forest, shows evidence of emerald ash borer and other invasive species, and stops by to visit some of the cattle he keeps on a 133-acre plot of land that overlooks the forest. 

Orefice also oversees forestry operations and applied educational opportunities on the 10,880 acre Yale School Forests system.

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“It’s a good time of year to just walk around, to see what’s going on. The leaves are off, the snow is gone, you can see clearly… One of the things I’m keeping an eye out for these days is the invasive insect problem on our ash trees…”

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“One of the things I like to do in the woods this time of year is to see what’s happening with our oak dynamics. We have many timber harvests on this forest… The goal is to regenerate a mix of species, the hardest one being oak…”

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“We have a number of old cellar holes from when this forest was farmland, 150 to 200 years ago… We also have a few important Native American sites. And we want to respect the past land stewards as we’re the current stewards of this land.”

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“As for me, I’m spending a lot more quality time with my cows… It’s a good break sometimes to get out, get away from a screen and spend some time on the farm doing some other things.”