Videos: CNRE students in action
Hands-on training for tackling complex environmental challenges
Check out some of our videos and get a front row seat to life in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. You’ll see our students in action as they do everything from scaling tall trees to rehabilitating wildlife to working on research projects that may lead to more sustainable packaging. You can also get a glimpse of what it means to put your education to the test by participating in an internship or connecting with employers at the annual career fair.
Gaining a lofty perspective through tree climbing workshops
Students in the Arboriculture Field Skills course are learning how to care for and manage trees in urban communities through a skills course in climbing. They learned key skills and safety practices from professionals and then scaled trees on campus.
Exploring world cultures through the sensory experience of tea
The Geography of Tea class brings together students from a diverse group of majors and incorporates the physical and human geography of tea, including economics, production, and current events, coupled with tea tasting exercises (slurping required!).
WEI student entrepreneurs produce charcuterie boards
Every year, students in the Wood Enterprise Institute design, produce, market, and ship original wood-based products using their built-from-the-ground-up business model. Take a look into the production process for this year’s product: charcuterie boards.
Forestry students learn through hands-on experience
Students in Carolyn Copenheaver's Forest Ecology and Silvics class spent time in the forest learning how to determine the number of trees per acre. They also study environmental factors affecting the establishment, growth, and development of forests.
Creating a sustainable foundation for products
Students and faculty at the Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design are conducting research that will help manufacturers design pallets that require less lumber while remaining strong.
Outdoor dendrology labs provide hands-on learning
Every fall, students roam the campus and nearby parks and forests as they learn how to identify woody plants with Professor John Seiler, Virginia Tech’s “Dr. Dendro.”
Researching the value of hemp waste
Sustainable biomaterials major Emilie Kohler researched the possibility of utilizing one byproduct of the cannabidiol extraction process as a modifying agent in the production of wood-based materials.
Investigating nature's ecosystem engineer
Faculty and students from the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation are gaining a better understanding of the bluehead chub and learning why they may be the key to conservation efforts.
CNRE student finds great joy in helping wildlife
Haley Olsen-Hodges works with wildlife at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center, an experience she hopes to use as a jumping-off point to help wildlife on a broader scale.
Cherished oak tree provides a learning opportunity
CNRE students met with University Arborist Jamie King and Geoff Manning of Manning Arboriculture to learn about the care that has been prescribed to preserve the Alwood Oak.
Braving the elements to learn essential forestry skills
Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation students navigated cold temperatures and steep terrain to get hands-on experience in surveying tract boundaries in nearby Fishburn Forest.
Finding a passion for wildland fire management
After John Kese suffered an injury while playing baseball in high school, he found new inspiration through his interests in forestry and the outdoors, finding his niche in CNRE and discovering a fiery passion for, well, fire.
Mastering wildlife field techniques at Mountain Lake Biological Station
Wildlife conservation students participated in a 10-day field experience, where they tried their hand at setting up camera traps and small mammal trapping grids, managing bird point counts, bat detecting, and more.
Testing the waters through internships
Jonathan Reynolds, a recent graduate with degrees in water and environmental resources management, believes his internships laid an important foundation for a career in water management.
Turning a passion for skateboarding into a research project
After wondering about the possibility of recycling skateboard decks, Dylan Willard worked with Professor Joe Loferski to create wooden panels made from cast-off boards and tested their strength and other factors.
Researching the effects of fire on forest vegetation
Adam Coates, assistant professor of forest fire ecology and management, leads a prescribed burn at Fishburn Forest with CNRE students who are part of the Wildland Fire: Ecology and Management course.