Since 2009, the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) has partnered with the Black Rock Forest Consortium on the Virtual Forest Initiative, which supports and enhances research, education, and community activities at this teaching forest 50 miles north of New York City.

CCNMTL developed a suite of web-based learning tools that utilizes Black Rock Forest's rich archive of scientific records such as climate field station and tree data. In this new video, scientists, educators, and students share how the Virtual Forest Initiative has enhanced teaching, learning, and research at Columbia University, Barnard College, and New York City middle and high schools.