SHC Recreation & Community Science In-Person Session

Smokey House is in the midst of a planning effort funded through the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) that is helping to revitalize recreation on the property. The goal of the project is to re-establish the 20+ mile historic trail network that spans across Smokey House's 5,000 acres of diverse forest and farmland to act as a platform for a community science program.

Once established, the Living Lab Community Science Program will allow youth, community groups, and people recreating on the property to directly participate in the research of the Living Lab by helping to collect ecological data across the property. These community-member driven observational datasets will be utilized by researchers to track and study important ecological patterns on the property such as the long-term impacts of climate change on resident plant and animal populations.

Community science is the partnership between scientists and members of the community to conduct…