The UT Arboretum Society will sponsor a program on forest  conservation initiaitives and related projects in Tennessee, led by an official of the Tennessee Nature Conservancy (TNC) on Thursday, March 5th at the UT Arboretum Auditorium, 901 S. Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge, 7- 8 p.m.

Sponsored by the UT Arboretum Society, this program is free and open to the public but donations are gratefully accepted. No registration is necessary.

Trish Johnson, Director of  Forest Conservation for the Nature Conservancy, leads the Tennessee Chapter’s forest conservation programs, focusing on strategic planning and outreach initiatives to improve forest health and connectivity on public and private lands across the state. She has been spearheading the Working Woodlands program in the state, which combines voluntary forest carbon projects, with forest certification and forest protection. The UT Institute of Agriculuture entered into a new Working Woodlands partnership program with TNC late last fall which will include the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center forest landbase.   

Assisting other states in growing the Working Woodland Program beyond Tennessee,  Johnson has lead two successful voluntary carbon projects totalling 9,000 acres. She anticipates  sequestering 750,000 tons of carbon (CO2) through 2037. So far, she has worked on the issuance of 215,500 credits. She leads management of  the TNC’s newest preserve in North Carolina. The Bridgestone Nature Reserve at Chestnut Mountain is a 5,800 acre preserve located near Sparta, Tennessee, which lies in the heart of one of the most biodiverse wooded plateaus in North America.  

Trish has been working with the University of the South to bring their forest under the TNC’s Forest Stewardship Council Certification. She is looking forward to leading the TNC’s the new partnership with the University of Tennessee to develop a forest carbon project leading to Forest Stewardship Council Certification.  

Celebrating 55 years in 2020, this program is one of many lectures and activities that will be offered this year by the UT Arboretum Society. The program is cosponsored by the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center.

The Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014, is one of ten outdoor laboratories located throughout the state as part of the UT AgResearch system. AgResearch is a division of the UT Institute of Agriculture. The Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction, research and public service through the UT Herbert College of Agriculture, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension offices, with locations in every county in the state.

To learn more about the Arboretum Society, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org. For more information on the program, call 865-483-7277 or mcampani@utk.edu.