Virtual Forest Initiative

Partner(s): Kevin L. Griffin, Hilary Callahan, Matt Palmer Arts and Sciences Released: TBA In development.

The Virtual Forest Initiative will provide a technological framework to support and enhance research, education, and community activities at Black Rock Forest. The framework will provide searchable, downloadable forest assets and resources for access, presentation, and use by scientists, educators, and community members.

As part of the larger Virtual Forest Initiative, CCNMTL is also developing 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. Used in the Earth and Environmental Sciences courses at Columbia University and Barnard College, the project gives students an unprecedented opportunity to utilize real data for comparative analysis.

The Virtual Forest Initiative aims to develop a breakthrough model for providing researchers, students, and educators an intuitive means for learning about all aspects of a research and community forest. Black Rock Forest is located 50 miles north of New York City in the Hudson Highlands.

Related categories: Field-Laboratory | Sciences