FER Home : News: WolFER News: March 2009 Issue
WolFER
- electronic newsletter for the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NC State
March 2009
In this issue:
- Celebrate NC Arbor Day
- Not Your Average Open House
- Alumni Reconnect
- Make Your Mark on History
- Networking and Career Fair
- Alumna Profile - Meet Dakota Paris
- Undergraduate Profile - Meet Asia Murphy
- Graduate Student Profile - Meet Scott Sink
Celebrate North Carolina’s Arbor Day
The Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University invites the public to their Arbor Day Celebration and Open House on March 21, 2009, from 9am to 1pm on the campus of NC State University.
Events will include a tree seedling give-away, a plant adoption center for youth, timber sports demonstrations from the NC State University Forestry Club, and various presentations from faculty and members of the urban forestry community. “We want to create a festive atmosphere where North Carolinians can come together to celebrate Arbor Day, as well as learn what our department has to offer those interested in a natural resource career. This also is an opportunity for faculty and students to share and discuss research projects and experiences with the public. We hope there is a little bit of something for everyone!” stated Shannon Ford, Undergraduate Program Coordinator for the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources.
Faculty will lead a guided campus tree walk, tours of the environmental technology labs, and the Turner House native plant garden. A tour of the NC State Campus will also be available. Exhibitors from various forest-related organizations will be on hand to answer questions and provide information. The 2009 North Carolina Arbor Day Poster Contest Winner, from a selection of 5th grade poster entries across the state, will be announced at noon.
For a full schedule of events, directions, and parking information please visit http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/forestry/arborday. Sponsors include the Triangle Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, Weyerhaeuser, and the Encore Center at NC State University.
A day is set aside each year in North Carolina, as in many other states, to show just how much trees are appreciated. In 1967 the North Carolina legislature ratified a bill stating in part "Whereas, it is desirable that the planting of seedlings and flowering shrubs be encouraged to promote the beautification and conservation of the vast and varied resources of North Carolina, and whereas the designation of a particular day each year as Arbor Day would encourage and draw attention to a concerted effort by North Carolinians to beautify and conserve the state's resources by planting young trees and shrubs." Arbor Day in North Carolina has been designated as the first Friday following March 15. This year Arbor Day falls on March 20, 2009.
For Further Information Contact:
Renee Strnad,
Extension Forestry,
North Carolina State University,
919-515-5518, renee_strnad@ncsu.edu
Not Your Average Open House
by Asia Murphy, Freshman, Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Wildlife Concentration
Jordan Hall is full. People crowd the hall, sit on the benches, and compare notes. Parents exchange anecdotes. A PowerPoint lecture goes on in an upstairs laboratory. Seats in the classrooms are filled, speakers pace up and down the front of the room. Voices fill the air. Sounds like a regular day at North Carolina State University, right?
It would be…except that all of this activity was occurring on a Saturday.
Droves of people came out for the College of Natural Resources (CNR) Open House that was held on October 18, 2008, parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, students in high school who have had their eye on North Carolina State University or college students looking to transfer. Some came for the information sessions on our majors, some for the alumni panel where three students that had graduated from North Carolina State University spoke of how NC State helped them come to the place where they were in life, and some for tours of the facilities that Jordan Hall and the new addition offer. All were impressed.
One prospective student hoping to enter CNR, Candess, came for the entire experience. She started at the general NCSU Open House at the Talley Student Center and made her way up to Jordan Hall with her father and mother. From there she went to the transfer seminar and the information sessions. Of the alumni panel, she says, “… [It is] good to see people who have done it and gone through it…” She wasn’t the only prospective transfer. A sophomore studying psychology at Appalachian University, Madeline, states that NC State is “…definitely a prospect.”
Brandon Hays, a high school student in Greensboro, wasn’t sure of exactly what he wanted to major in. Tall with a head full of red hair, said he was stuck between Zoology and Wildlife & Fisheries sciences, stating he’d been interested in animals as long as he could remember.
Gretchen Stokes, who was interested in Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences, and Deja, who was interested in Environmental Technology, had met for the first time during the summer of 2008 at the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Summer Exploration Camp. They exchanged ecstatic greetings and stated that they were both “…pretty set on NC State.” Deja added that she had always been interested in keeping the environment clean.
CNR’s Open House was anything but an ordinary admissions open house. Instead, it was the background to the reunion of friends, the confirmation of long-set plans, and where minds where opened to the possibilities that are rich in North Carolina State University and the College of Natural Resources.
Note from the editor: the department is happy to announce undergraduate applications have increased for Fall 2009 admission.
Alumni Find Opportunities to Reunite!
Classes of ’65, ’66, ’67 Celebrate 40plus—year Reunion
The NC State Forestry classes of 1965, ’66, and ’67 held their 40+ Reunion October 24-25, 2008. Classmates and their spouses, as well as some of their professors from so many years ago, greeted each other on Friday night for an evening of fun, food, and renewing old friendships at the Embassy Suites Crabtree, Raleigh. Bill Callahan, class of ’66 and Reunion Committee Chair, treated the group to a wonderful slideshow presentation with stories and photos from their days in school and summer camp.
Saturday morning, the alumni loaded in the College of Natural Resources bus and headed out to NC State’s Hill Forest and Camp Slocum, where forestry, fisheries and wildlife summer camp are still held each year. The misty weather didn’t dampen the alumni spirits as CNR Forest Manager Joe Cox gave a tour of some Hill Forest research sites. Back at camp, alumni enjoyed a pig pickin’ and were joined by Department Forestry and Environmental Resources Head Barry Goldfarb and students currently supported by the George K. Slocum Endowed Work Scholarship. Of this remarkable group of classmates and friends, current student Nick Williams said, “it is an honor to meet these alumni – they are truly inspiring!”
Fisheries and Wildlife Alumni Reunion to be held April 18, 2009
The Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences Alumni Society Board invites you and your family to attend the 2009 Fisheries & Wildlife Alumni Reunion!
The main event will be held on Saturday, April 18, appropriately on Earth Day, with a BBQ picnic lunch at the Harrell Building on the N.C. State Fairgrounds. Activities will include family-oriented events such as a fishing derby, wildlife displays, and other activities for kids; picture boards with past and present students and facilities; student organization displays; and a fund-raising raffle. Provost Larry Nielsen will join us to give us his vision of N.C. State, the College of Natural Resources and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Register by April 13.
For more information, contact John Crutchfield at johncrutchfield@bellsouth.net or 919-757-1095.
Other Ways to Stay Connected:
Stay in Touch
We would like to hear about you and your successes.
Update Your Record or Submit a Class Note
Are you on Facebook?
Become a member of the NC State Forestry and Environmental Resources Department group: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1370210366&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=20474952182. Reconnect with classmates and share your “life after NCSU” stories.
Make Your Mark in History
News from the Natural Resource Foundation
Scholarship Funds Limited
With the recent slump of the stock market, the ability to offer scholarships to current and incoming students will be very limited over the next three years. We need everyone to chip in and understand that all gifts, big and small, will make a difference. We are asking all alumni, friends, donors, faculty and industry to either:
-
Contribute directly to the Friends in Forestry and Environmental Resources Fund.
or - Designate a portion of their annual gift to the income account for an established endowment (e.g. $5000 annual gift; $2500 to endowment fund, $2500 to income fund)
On Line Giving Website
Giving to support the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources has never been easier. You can make a gift online via our secured Giving Site www.cnr.ncsu.edu/giveonline.
You may choose to give an un-designated gift by selecting “Friends or Forestry and Environmental Resources.” This fund is currently designated to undergraduate scholarships.
Or select “Other” and right in a specific scholarship or area of study. Funds you might consider:
• Hill Forest Slocum Camp Fund (summer camp scholarship and other activities and maintenance)
• Larry Jervis Scholarship (Forestry)
• Phil Doerr Scholarship (Fisheries & Wildlife)
Hill Forest Slocum Camp Fund
Since 1929, the Hill Forest has been home away from home for students attending summer camp. It is one of the few college camps still operating in the United States. All gifts to this endowment will be directed to enhancing the student/visitor experience with increased scholarships, program development and upgraded facilities. You may choose to name a building for a favorite professor or classmate. Or contact your summer camp classmates to name a cabin/building together.
New Dining Hall $150,000 Recreation Hall $25,000
Lodge $100,000 Student Cabin (14) $15,000
Caretaker's Residence $50,000 Cook’s Cabin $15,000
Faculty Cabin (2) $50,000 All Gifts Great and Small $1000 & up
For more information, contact Jennifer Viets Catalano at cnr_development@ncsu.edu
FER Networking and Career Fair
The Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources invites organizations to participate in our first annual Networking and Career Fair. The event will be held Wednesday, April 8, 2009 in our Talley Student Center from noon to 3:00pm.
This event offers recruiters and potential employers a chance to meet our forestry, natural resources, environmental technology, fisheries sciences, wildlife sciences, and environmental science students and graduates. The Networking and Career Fair is an outstanding opportunity for you to meet with high quality candidates that will be able to make significant contributions to your organization as interns or full-time employees.
We look forward to providing you with a venue to visit with and collect resumes from students, soon-to-be graduates, and former students. Acquaint yourselves with the skills that our graduates possess and network with our younger students to lay the groundwork for your future employment needs. You will also have the opportunity to meet with Dean Robert Brown and departmental faculty during the event.
There is no registration fee to participate, but space is limited. Complete and return the Registration Form as soon as possible to secure your registration.
For more information, contact Shannon Shinault Ford, Undergraduate Program Coordinator, at shannon_shinault@ncsu.edu or 919-513-2582.
PACK PRIDE - Spotlights on our students and alumni
WolFER News is proud to feature people who have made or will make important contributions to their professions. Take a moment to meet a few of them!
Meet Dakota Paris, alumna - Dakota is a 2007 graduate of the Forest Management program. She says, "College was an adventure, one that I will never forget. Getting to know all of my classmates and the friendships that were forged there was one of the most rewarding things of college."
Meet Asia Murphy, undergraduate student - Asia is just completing her freshman year in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences. "All my life I’ve been interested in wildlife: the wilder, the better," says Asia. "I decided that what I wanted to do most was work with wildlife in their natural habitat, and a major in wildlife sciences can help me do that."
Meet Scott Sink, graduate student - Scott is finishing up his PhD in Forestry, with an emphasis on forest community ecology and silviculture. His research focus on the rainforests of south-central Chile. He says the project was appealing to him because of the similarities in stand structure and climate between south-central Chile and the temperate rainforest in Alaska.
