Environmental Studies Program

In 2009, Weston treated approximately 600 Hemlock trees on town land for the Woolly Adelgid, a pest that eventually kills the tree. SEP coordinates the research behind this treatment with experimental and control plots throughout the treated areas.

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Placing Hemlock monitoring plots throughout Weston's town forest was the first step in our long-term measurement study. As part of the Wildlands and Woodlands Science team, we are installing over a hundred long-term monitoring plots throughout Weston's forest. Plots have been placed in stands that represent the species diversity of the forest as a whole. 

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In the forests of Weston, we have noticed a recent upsurge in American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) regeneration. We are currently investigating the location of parent trees and the dispersal pattern of these new recruits to explain this phenomenon.

This project examines the potential for forest management and forestry in the western suburbs of Boston. We are analyzing the forest resources in a six-town study area. We will look at issues such as local and regional markets for wood products, efficiencies of scale in forest production, and current technologies for utilizing and processing wood products.