AFA Tells the Forestry Story through Education and Outreach

Telling the story of Arkansas forestry comes naturally to the team at the Arkansas Forestry Association (AFA). Every AFA landowner outreach program, newsletter, website posting, podcast, interaction with the news media, public policy advocacy initiative and more, aims to educate an audience about the significant, beneficial impact of growing and utilizing healthy, working forests.

Organized in 1947, AFA is the only private non-profit state trade association that advocates for all components of the timber and forest products sector in Arkansas. And while AFA’s work in the public policy advocacy arena is the number one reason members join the association, telling the forestry story through public education and outreach is the most prevalent activity you will find taking place within the association on behalf of its more than one thousand members. Of those members, by far the largest contingent are private family forest owners. The majority of AFA’s outreach programs focus on this audience.

The AFA Education Foundation (AFAEF) administers public education and outreach programs under the leadership of Rob Beadel, director of forestry education. In 2024, AFAEF hosted or partnered in 15 landowner education workshops and engaged with more than one thousand landowners who manage almost 237,000 acres. These workshops cover a wide range of forest management topics such as prescribed fire, invasive plant species and emerging forest health issues. AFAEF, in partnership with the Arkansas Tree Farm Program, hosted its first statewide forestry forum last year and plans to make the forum an annual event.

In addition to landowner outreach, AFAEF administers Project Learning Tree, the award-winning PreK-12 environmental education curricula that instructs students “how to think, not what to think” about complex environmental issues. In addition, AFAEF annually hosts three, two-day Teacher Conservation Tour workshops and a Green Careers Expo that focuses on various aspects of forest management, forest products, and other forestry-related topics. Combined with AFA and AFAEF’s growing attention to workforce development within the timber and forest products sector, these outreach programs help promote green career opportunities for students and encourage educators to include environmental education in the classroom.

One of the more unique and exciting landowner initiatives is the Women Owning Woodlands (WOW) program. Facilitated by Anna Sparks, AFA’s director of business and Tree Farm Program administrator, WOW provides female-focused forestry programming through virtual and in-person workshops, field tours, printed and online information, and through social media.

“I’m thrilled that WOW continues to grow and that the program continues to equip women with the resources they need to actively manage their timberland,” Sparks said. “Anyone is welcome to attend WOW events, but we certainly want them to provide a venue where attendees feel comfortable asking questions, learning from each other and from our speakers. Recent WOW topics have included techniques for creating good forest habitat, as well as factors that contribute to poor habitat; fire behavior and factors that influence it, and the benefits of creating pollinator habitat. And because Sparks coordinates both the WOW and Tree Farm programs, she regularly introduces concepts that mirror the management standards required of Tree Farm members.

The impact of the Arkansas Tree Farm Program on sustainable forest management is significant. The third-party certified program, aimed at private family forest owners, serves approximately 500 landowners and covers about 2,600 properties statewide. Tree Farm members receive regular communication from AFA through newsletters, have access to multiple workshops and tours, and most importantly, are part of an active network of forestry professionals and family forest owners.

“Helping landowners find the tools they need to actively manage their property, whether it’s a piece of information or a professional forester to help write a management plan, inspect their property or just give sound advice is such a rewarding part of my job,” Sparks said. “And then to see the results on display when you visit one of our member’s tree farms is a thrill.”

AFA provides resources for its members, students, and educators, but what about the public? There is a wealth of information on the AFA website at www.arkforests.org, including a Buyer’s Guide filled with forestry service providers. Plus, you can find the “Voices of Forestry” podcast. Now up to almost 70 episodes, it was one of the first association-based forestry podcasts in the nation and is a virtual “forestry 101”. Hosted by AFA Communications Coordinator Seth Stephenson, the podcast features a different voice of forestry each month sharing his or her expertise.

The podcast and all the association’s outreach programs are designed to help people think, answer their questions, share information that maybe they’ve never considered before and ultimately, build understanding that members of the timber and forest products community can be trusted to keep our working forests working and healthy in order to deliver everything we need and want from them today and in the future.