Family Forest Network

02/23/2026

Mark your calendars! Join us for a 3-part webinar series on managing Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) in Nova Scotia.

If you care for woodlands with hemlock, this series is for you. These webinars are designed to equip woodland stewards with practical, research-informed tools to respond to HWA. Across the series, we’ll explore:

🌲 Chemical Treatment Options and Resources for Woodland Stewards (February 26)
🌲 Understanding Biological Control & Research in Nova Scotia (March 5)
🌲 Silviculture Strategies to Help Prepare & Adapt your Woodland for HWA (March 19)

Whether you’re looking to take immediate action or plan for the future of your forest, this series will help you make informed decisions to support hemlock conservation in Nova Scotia.

Learn more and register: https://www.medwaycommunityforest.com/events

02/20/2026

Only 40 more harvests will be accepted. Contact us now if you are interested.

Advancing Ecological Forestry in Nova Scotia The FFN envisions a time when the long-term ecological health and biodiversity of Nova Scotia’s woodlands are recognized by all as the foundation for truly sustainable forest management, now and into the future. The Project A collaboration among 11 char...

02/17/2026

Medway Community Forest Co-op will be hosting a 3-part hemlock conservation webinar series designed to equip woodland stewards with practical, research-informed tools for responding to Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA). Across the series, woodland stewards will explore adaptive silviculture approaches, chemical treatment options, and biological control research to support both immediate action and long-term hemlock conservation.

The webinars are on Thursday from 7:00-8:00 PM, and the first webinar will be next Thursday, February 26.

Learn more and register: https://www.medwaycommunityforest.com/events

https://www.facebook.com/medwaycommunityforest/posts/pfbid0thRktC5bsEw35S1ABxbLqTPTVufztsf8fAHrbvLjQT1oSijBZF6Lg52F1fWDnuaXl?rdid=pMW3a251s1wjdtHA #

At the MCFC, we host regular events and workshops, check this page frequently, follow us on facebook and sign-up for our newsletter to keep up on the latest.

01/07/2026

The Woodland Conferences partners are once again planning for three regional conferences this year! Join us for a conference series where woodland owners, forestry professionals, researchers and nature-lovers learn more about forest stewardship, ecological forestry, and programs available to woodlot owners. Listen to presentations, view exhibits, and network with others interested in forests in Nova Scotia.

Visit nswoods.ca/2026conferences to register and for more details as they become available.

Western Woodland Conference
April 11th, 2026
St. Mary's Bay Academy, Weymouth, NS (Digby County)

Eastern Woodland Conference
April 18th, 2026
Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre, Port Hawkesbury, NS (Inverness County)

Central Woodland Conference
May 2nd, 2026
Maple Ridge Elementary, Lantz, NS (Hants County)

Cost (lunch included):
Early Bird: $25 (deadline 8 days before each conference)
Regular: $30
Student: $20

Recordings and powerpoint slides from the 2025 Woodland Conferences as well as previous conferences can be found here . ​

09/27/2025

Congratulations to the Bremner family on winning the 2025 Provincial and Central Region Woodland Owner of the Year Award!

Due to the woods closures and wildfire danger as well as unavailability of staff for various roles, the Department of Natural Resources has decided to postpone the WOYA public field day to next spring. We will let you know when a new date is announced.

Photo credit: Dept. of Natural Resources

09/19/2025

For those interested - NSWWT is hosting a FREE event this Sunday, Sept 21 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at the John Paul Centre in Antigonish called Antigonish Community Conservation: Preserving Working Woodlands.

This event will be an engaging and hand-on day dedicated to the future of Nova Scotia's forests.

Register now: https://forms.office.com/r/ZVTf3D2f6z

More details in attached post.

09/04/2025

Join our friends at the Western Woodlot Services Cooperative Ltd. and the Federation of Nova Scotia Woodland Owners for their upcoming What's Under Your Feet Workshop! The workshop will be on Sunday, September 7th at the Super 8 in Windsor, NS.

This event will be led by expert Fred Bonner, a registered professional geologist with 40 years' experience integrating environmental stewardship and community issues with mineral development activities and social licensing.

Registration is required at: https://forms.gle/NYFyrz6gbhHHDSRt8

09/04/2025

This is a significant endorsement from one of the peer-reviewed journals affiliated with Nature, a world-leading family of science publications: Diverse forests are productive forests.

The analysis looked at 852,170 records of 113,701 individual trees from 129 species in 15 tree diversity experiments that spanned a wide range of forest types.

The Forest Stewards Guild, Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association, and (by extension) the Family Forest Network have been seeing this, and saying this, for decades.

Scientific validation of what the Guild knows well: Diverse forests are more productive.

A new Nature Ecology & Evolution study synthesizing 15 global tree diversity experiments confirms that increasing tree species richness and trait dissimilarity enhances individual tree growth by about 7–13% on average—especially in wetter climates.

This isn’t just theory—it supports what the Guild observes in our restoration work: fostering diversity isn’t just good ecology, it’s smart stewardship.

Read the study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02805-5