Forestry programs prepare people to manage forests and care for trees in urban areas and parks. Students learn the principles of tree growth, forestry laws, and wildlife protection. They also study the ecology in different forested areas and learn to protect forests from fires, pests, and diseases.
If you think back to the stories you may have heard or read as a child, you can probably remember several examples that take place in forests. There's the 100 Acre Wood where Winnie the Pooh lives; Sherwood Forest where Robin Hood hides out; the enchanted woods where Snow White frolics with the Seven Dwarves; and the deep, dark forest where Little Red Riding Hood encountered the evil wolf. You can probably remember several other examples.
Whether shown as dark and scary, or magical and peaceful, forests in these stories often seem to have a life of their own, don't they? There are no foresters inspecting trees for diseases, lumberjacks preparing to cut a tree down for timber, or environmental activists camped out in the branches of a Douglas fir.
The fact is, however, that in the real world, our forests benefit from the diverse work of forestry. As a forester, you help protect forests and surrounding wildlife from fires. You learn about the diseases and pests that threaten tree growth and study ways of preventing them. In order to help the wood products industry, you learn how to grow trees faster and stronger. And to ensure that future generations can enjoy the quiet shade of a forest, you're also responsible for the safety of endangered plants and wildlife and for planting new trees.
An arborist is an urban forester. Arborists work in cities to apply their knowledge of forestry to trees that people value for beauty or recreational purposes.
As a student of forestry, you take courses that teach you about both forest and trees. You study related natural sciences such as botany, ecology, and dendrology (learning to identify different kinds of trees and shrubs). You also study forestry in terms of social sciences such as economics, public policy, and resource management. In addition, you learn technical principles of forestry such as operating equipment, using related computer applications, and mapping out the properties of specific forests.
Many colleges and universities offer accredited degree programs in forestry. You can typically earn a bachelor's, a master's, or a doctoral degree in this field. In general, a bachelor's degree takes about four years of full-time study after high school, and a master's degree about one to two years after that. Beyond a master's degree, a doctoral degree usually takes about three to four more years.
In many undergraduate and graduate programs, you can choose to focus on a particular aspect of forestry. Concentration choices vary depending on the school, but you can typically choose from the following:
• Forest Biology and Ecology
• Forest Economics, Management, and Policy
• Urban Forestry
As a graduate student, your choices are usually much more diverse and specific because you tend to focus on a topic at a much deeper level.