Southern Urban and Interface Forests - What's New

This video was developed by the NCLI Coalition to encourage increased environmental education opportunities at schools. The video celebraties environmental education and its impact on children's learning, health and leadership.

Saturday, May 21st is National Walk in the Woods Day, an event in celebration of the International Year of the Forests and coordinated by the American Forest Foundation. Consider helping youth and adults alike to discover a forest and learn about its importance by participating in, or leading, a “walk in the woods.”
 

Click here to learn more about this event. To learn more about the International Year of the Forests click here.

This issue of Leaves of Change focuses on outdoor recreation in the South, specifically focusing on the economic benefits that recreational trails can bring to communities. Michael Bowker (SRS research social scientist) has been studying the role of trail tourism in sparking economic life into rural areas in the South. In the case of the Virginia Creeper Trail, a railroad line built to haul harvested timber has been converted into a widely popular biking trail that has helped to revitalize communities who have suffered from economic shifts in the region.