Harvard Forest

**About Us** The Harvard Forest is a department of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) of Harvard University. From a center comprised of 4,000 acres of land, research facilities, and the Fisher Museum, the scientists, students, and collaborators at the Forest explore topics ranging from conservation and environmental change to land-use history and the ways in which physical, biological and human systems interact to change our earth. Since 1988, the Harvard Forest has been a Long-Term Ecological Research Site, funded by the National Science Foundation to conduct integrated, long-term studies of forest dynamics. Since 2011, the Harvard Forest has been the Northeast Core site for the National Ecological Observatory Network. For current interests and happening view our [Biennial Report](https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/HFbiennialReport2015-16.pdf). Research faculty at the Forest offer courses through the Harvard College Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) and the First-YearSeminar Program. Close association is also maintained with Harvard's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS), the Kennedy School of Government (KSG), the School of Public Health (SPH), and the Graduate School of Design. **History** [](https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/print/50 "Display a printer-friendly version of this page.") The 4,000 acres of land that comprise the Harvard Forest, in Petersham (Nichewaug), Massachusetts, are within the unceded homeland of the Nipmuc people. Following the tragic genocide and forced removal/assimilation of Indigenous people in this region, Nichewaug was colonized by European settlers and incorporated as the town of Petersham in the 18th century. The incredible resilience of the Nipmuc people through this period has led to their ability to thrive into the modern era, and means that we are able to collaborate today. The original 2,000 acres that make up the Harvard Forest were donated to Harvard University by James Brooks for the purposes of establishing a field-based classroom for Harvard's new School of Forestry. At its founding in 1907, the original purpose of the Harvard Forest was to serve as: 1. A field laboratory for students 2. A research center in forestry and related disciplines, including soils, wildlife biology, geography and botany 3. A demonstration of practical sustained forestry In 1914, Forestry education was shifted to Petersham, and the Harvard Forest was made a graduate school. The Harvard Forest mission was reprioritized in 1915 to include serving as an example to the local community for the care and marketing of forests. In 1932, the Harvard Forest was placed within Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where it has remained since. Today, the Forest hosts [educational programs](https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/education-opportunities) (courses, internships, and field trips) for thousands of students a year, from Harvard and around the world. The Harvard Forest is also now among the most studied forests in the world. While its dual mission of research and teaching has been largely unchanged since its founding, the Forest’s [land base](https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/hf-land-management), [research](https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/research) scope, and range of [collaborators](https://harvardforest2.fas.harvard.edu/asp/hf/php/researcher_profiles.php) have expanded considerably, and the Forest now serves as a critical node in nearly every national ecological network (see [LTER](https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/research/lter), [NEON](https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/other-tags/neon), and [ForestGEO](https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/other-tags/mega-plot)).