Project Support

The research underlying this project was funded by the A.W. Mellon Foundation, the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research program and Ecosystem and Ecology programs, Harvard University, Highstead Foundation, Polly Hill Arboretum, and the Beech Tree Trust on Naushon Island.  Special thanks to the Edey Foundation, Gus Daniels Wildlife Trust, and Elisabeth Dudley for supporting the production of The Meeting of Land and Sea and to Linda Mirabile at RavenMark for her guidance through the development of the brochure and printing of the 1850 map. And, a final thanks to Jean Thompson Black, Jeff Schier, and Samantha Ostrowski at Yale University Press for their dedication to bringing the book to print.

The Harvard Forest

Supporting many decades of research for this project is the Harvard Forest, Harvard University’s 4,000-acre ecological laboratory and classroom. Founded in 1907 and located in Petersham, Massachusetts, the Forest is the northeast center for several national and global research initiatives of the National Science Foundation and Smithsonian Global Earth Observatory. Its work engages thousands of interdisciplinary scholars and scientists each year, from Harvard and an international array of colleges and universities, as well as regional conservation organizations, forestry groups, even K-12 classrooms. All of Harvard Forest's research publications and datasets are publicly available online.

The Harvard Forest landscape, comprised of varied forests, pastures, wetlands, and streams, is one of the oldest and most intensively studied research landscapes in North America. Open to the public year-round, the site includes educational and research facilities, the Fisher Museum, and miles of recreational trails. Many of its acres are permanently conserved. The Forest works actively with conservation organizations and universities throughout New England as part of the Wildlands and Woodlands initiative to protect 80 percent of the regional land base as woodlands, wildlands, and farmland--safeguarding in perpetuity the many natural, cultural, and economic benefits the land provides.