Harvard Forest buildings will be closed Monday, February 17.

Welcome to Harvard Forest! This site is packed with info about Harvard Forest's research, education, events, data, & more. We've made some handy guides to explore the website from the perspectives of educators, students, field researchers, and land stewards/conservationists. Don't see your view? Let us know at [email protected].

Explore my view

News & Highlights
February 13, 2025

Join us Saturday March 8 for Seasonal Traditional Storytelling

Image shows a black gum swamp covered in ice, snow, and water, with sunlight filtering through. By David Foster.

Seasonal Traditional Storytelling at Harvard Forest
March 8th 1:30-3:00 pm 
Harvard Forest Fisher Museum
324 N Main St., Petersham, MA 01366
Free and open to all!
Suggested $10 donation 

Image shows the text included in this webpage, plus cartoon-style graphics of a bear, foxes, and spring flowers.

Come join our Indigenous Education Specialist

February 10, 2025

Harvard Forest Announces 2025-2026 Charles Bullard Fellows in Forest Research

Image shows 2023-2024 Bullard Fellows in Harvard Forest's Fisher Museum.

The Charles Bullard fellowship program supports advanced research and study by individuals who show promise of making an important contribution to forestry and forest-related subjects including biology, earth sciences, economics, politics, administration, philosophy, humanities, the arts, or law.

Harvard Forest is pleased to announce the upcoming 2025-2026 Charles Bullard Fellows in Forest Research. Over the course of their fellowships, we'll

January 29, 2025

Winter Interns Advance Harvard Forest Research and Education Initiatives

Image shows 2025 Wintersession students, from left to right: Hailey Akey, Spurty Kamath, Eve Farrell, Sophia Rey, Lana Romanova, and Aditya Bhayana.

In January, Harvard Forest hosted six Harvard University students for Wintersession Internships across a variety of disciplines.

Collectively discussing their work to the Harvard Forest community at a Lab Group on January 22, the interns presented on the research projects listed below.

Research on Environmental Education: Schoolyard Ecology and STEM Identity
Aditya Bhayana; Harvard Kennedy School

“Draw a picture

December 18, 2024

Jan 25: Join us for all things tree rings!

Image shows a black and white picture of a cross-section of a large hemlock analyzed by Bob Marshall on the Adams Fay Lot (1924). Photographer unknown.

Event: Tree Rings at Harvard Forest

Saturday, January 25th
11 AM – 12 PM 
Meet at the Fisher Museum (directions)
324 N Main St, Petersham, MA 01366 

Image shows a graphic with text, including information noted on this webpage, plus a description of activities: "meet the tree ring lab; tree coring demo; tour of the lab; learn</body></html>

December 16, 2024

Diversity vs. Heterogeneity: New Insights from Animal Gut Microbiome Scaling

Image shows three scales in terms of grain and extent, from microbe's eye. By Zhanshan (Sam) Ma and Aaron Ellison.

Diversity and heterogeneity are two related but distinct ideas that describe biological communities. As part of his recent heterogeneity research through the Bullard Fellowship at Harvard Forest, Dr. Zhanshan (Sam) Ma collaborated with Aaron Ellison, Harvard Forest Associate, to examine the differences between these two phenomena by studying animal gut microbiomes (AGMs). Recently

December 10, 2024

Applications: Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology

Image shows 2024 SRPE students with proctor, Teressa Alexander, and Program Coordinator, Ben Goulet-Scott.

February 8 update: Applications are now closed!

The Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology is an immersive research experience connecting undergraduate students to mentors and researchers in the pursuit of scientific inquiry. Each year, 15-25 undergraduates from across the US live and work at the 4,000-acre Harvard Forest for 11 weeks. Students work with a research mentor in interdisciplinary team-based projects focused on

Explore Our Work

IN THE WOODS

Focus on Phenology
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/other-tags/phenology

LONG-TERM STUDIES

85 Acres, 116,000 Trees
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/other-tags/mega-plot

STUDENT PROGRAMS

Winter Opportunities for Harvard Students
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/undergraduate-students

CONSERVATION SCIENCE

Envisioning the Future Landscape
https://harvardforest-prod.ats.cloud.huit.harvard.edu/policy-land-use

JOIN OUR TEAM!

Jobs & Fellowships Open Now
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/employment

Wildlife Cam

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Raccoon
Raccoon at Night
Deer Browsing
Deer Browsing
Young Moose Browsing
Moose Browsing
Turkeys with young grazing
Turkey with Young Grazing
Wildlife Trail Cameras at Harvard Forest - February 2016
Wildlife Montage - February 2016
Wildlife Trail Cameras at Harvard Forest - Feb/March 2016
Wildlife Trail Cameras at Harvard Forest - Feb/March 2016

Webcams

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Hemlock Tower NE
Hemlock Tower NE
EMS Tower 2
EMS Tower 2
Witness Tree
Witness Tree
NEON Bottom of Tower
NEON Bottom of Tower
Harvard Farm North 2
Harvard Farm North 2
Barn Tower 2
Barn Tower 2
Below Canopy
Below Canopy
Hemlock Tower SW
Hemlock Tower SW
Harvard Farm North
Harvard Farm North
Neon Top of Tower
Neon Top of Tower
EMS Tower
EMS Tower
Barn Tower
Barn Tower

Real Time Data

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1. Temperature & Humidity
1. Temperature & Humidity
2. Radiation
2. Radiation
8. Snowpack
8. Snowpack
5. Stream Discharge
5. Stream Discharge
3. Wind Speed
3. Wind Speed
4. Precipitation
4. Precipitation
7. Water Temperature
7. Water Temperature
6. Wetland Water Level
6. Wetland Water Level

Events at Harvard Forest

See a list of our upcoming seminars & events:

Spring Seminar Series

Future Events

Initiatives & Partner Organizations

Leaf