If you visit Horsebarn Hill often, you may have noticed a lot of activity in the area behind Jacobsen’s Barn in recent years. Between extreme weather events and the work of the beautiful but destructive Asian ash beetle (EAB), the UConn Forestry crew has been busy cutting down and processing dead trees. While the loss of trees is unfortunate, the vacated space presents an opportunity, says Robert Fahey, the Goerge F. Cloutier Professor of Forestry in the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Center for Environmental Science and Engineering, and director of the UConn Forest.

Fahey says the project involves building a new outdoor classroom to replace an existing classroom that is not easily accessible from campus and the surrounding community. And, he adds, gesturing around, you don’t have the fantastic views of Horsebarn Hill. ?

“We thought about improving access to the existing classroom and cleaning up the site, but then we realised we are clearing the ash stand to use it for local timber products and we will be freeing up a space that happens to have fantastic views. It is also very accessible from that part of campus where students and the public are. We thought it would make sense to look at building in that area.”

Forestry workers have been busy processing wind-damaged trees, including pine and spruce. The insect-damaged ash and much of the material will be used to build the pavilion, along with additional material taken from another, also weather-damaged, forest area closer to Fenton, says Associate Extension Professor Thomas Worthley.

Isaac Betts (CAHNR) ’23 says this project came about when Fahey approached him with the idea of ​​applying for an Office of Sustainability Environmental and Social Sustainability grant. Betts happily agreed and the grant was successful, securing $10,000 to assemble all the materials needed for construction. In early summer 2023, they began building the platform.

Betts has worked in the UConn Forest since 2022 as part of the Applied Forest Ecology Lab and on the UConn Forestry team since 2023. Betts also had experience building the ADA-compliant compostable privy at the Spring Valley Student Farm, also made possible by a grant from the Office of Sustainability. Fahey felt Betts brought the right skills to the project.

“He seemed like someone who would do this really well, and he’s excited about it. We also knew we had enough reclaimed wood from the forest to build things if we wanted to,” Fahey says.

Betts says the pavilion will be hexagonal in shape with a 30-foot radius and the structure will be entirely timber framed. The team hopes it will be a beautiful visual addition to the already stunning views of Horsebarn Hill.

Preparing the site was hard work, Worthley says, with the tangle of vines like poison ivy and the uneven ground, not to mention the challenge of digging holes for the supports in the rocky New England soil. The platform also needs to be quite high to compensate for the elevation difference.

“The seats will be arranged like a stadium around a speaker’s area that will look out over Horsebarn Hill and connect the audience to the forest. The site will also be cleared so we can fence it off for an American chestnut orchard. We’re working with the American Chestnut Foundation to do that.”

The region’s forests were once home to millions of towering American chestnut trees, but after disease decimated the species, the composition of New England’s forests was never the same. Efforts like this one are underway to reintroduce disease-resistant American chestnut varieties into the wild.

Fahey has put up signs in the area to explain the project to forest visitors who may be wondering what is going on.

“We like the idea of ​​using the disturbance that caused us to clear the area as an opportunity to reestablish the chestnut tree that was destroyed by another disease,” says Fahey. “This mirroring of the stories is interesting and makes a good story to bring people here and show them what we can do in situations like this.”

Worthley says they are often approached by people who want to get involved in restoration projects, and he says they always have opportunities to volunteer. For example, with this project, they hope to plant black walnuts, hickory nuts, and acorns in the area to create a diverse mix of native species that are particularly beneficial to wildlife. He also hopes they can continue to control more invasive species to help the future young forest develop.

Fahey says, “When you come here, you notice that there are a lot of birds here compared to other parts of our forests, which can be pretty quiet and not particularly interesting habitat for many wildlife species. That’s because this type of habitat, this young forest, is lacking to some degree across the state. So it’s a great opportunity to use this disturbance to add diversity to the landscape.”

Worthley points out some hallmarks of early successional young forest, such as the dominance of herbaceous growth and a few tree sprouts here and there, as well as a newly emerged ash tree, which Worthley says is important because some ash trees are actually resistant to the EAB. Controlling invasive species, planting plenty of new nuts and seeds, and protecting the area as much as possible from browsing deer will help the young forest take hold.

Betts says one sight he enjoyed while working at the site was watching hummingbirds dive-bomb each other as they competed for the best feeding spot. Betts says he’s never seen so many hummingbirds at once, especially since there were no hummingbird feeders.

With accessibility being a primary concern in the design, Worthley says this new pavilion will have a path that is grade-limited and wheelchair accessible. The plan is for anyone who wants to use the space to be able to do so.

“As far as classes go, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment will certainly use it, but I think there’s also the potential that any class across campus could use the space and go out on a nice day like today. Of course, there’s value in just being outside, listening to birds and enjoying the view. During COVID, my class met in the outdoor classroom every week and we were able to have classes because we were completely outside. I think having more spaces like this will allow us to be more resilient to things like this,” Fahey says.

Betts says this project is moving more slowly than the composting toilet, but that’s understandable given the scope of the project and the size of the materials. However, he’s not worried because large projects take time, especially when the materials are harvested and processed at the source rather than purchased.

“The things we’re trying to do here are much bigger. The biggest things we needed for the toilet were 4×4 boards, and here we have things that are four times as big and almost twice as long. So it’s much harder to move them and the logs they come from.”

The clearing and salvage work also involves preparing materials for other projects, such as making fence posts and milling, Worthley says.

“We’ll put the supports in and probably lay out the floor frame. Then we’ll assemble some of the pieces that will stand upright. We’re looking to get volunteers so we can have a sort of barn-building event. There’s a lot of preparation time and a lot of work up front to make sure everything goes smoothly, but that’s part of the process,” Worthley says.

Progress was also very weather dependent, and last summer and fall were exceptionally wet, further slowing the effort. They also tried to get as much done as possible while Betts was still on campus before his winter graduation.

“Another time-consuming part of the project is getting all the measurements just right and transferring them to the wood. We do our best to compensate for the natural variations in the material, but sometimes it just takes a while to lay out all the joints and make sure all the angles are just right,” says Betts. “Figuring out the joints was like a big puzzle.”

Fahey says this project is unique because it integrates so many skills, from forestry to engineering to architecture.

“The other unique element is thinking about how we use this space, how the university can benefit from the forest and how that connection can help bring people into the forest. We drive home the importance of the forest in many different ways. For example, we can put numbers on how much carbon is in the forest and how much carbon is sequestered. But I think it’s also important to consider the use and value of the space to hold classes but also to bring students into the forest, especially in an accessible space like this.”

The forest is important to different people for different reasons, Worthley says, from physical exercise to studying nature to escaping the busy, hectic world. Whatever the reason for this connection, it’s important to convey that the forest’s many benefits underscore the importance of managing and preserving this space.

“Besides being an aesthetic and recreational asset, it also works for us. We manage it with respect for habitat and watershed and with the intention of doing things with materials from our forest, and that creates a material connection to the resource in people’s minds. Hopefully that helps people understand that we want to have such an asset, and we can also get an educational benefit in the process.”

Betts also adds that extracting and building resources in this way helps sequester carbon that would otherwise be released in the decomposition process. When that carbon is used as a building material, it will stay out of the atmosphere for much longer than if the wood had been left to rot.

“If we can incorporate it into a product long enough to grow another tree, we’ve done well,” says Worthley. “And if you’re a little eccentric, that’s a fun activity, too.”

Fahey says they hope the space will be comfortable for classes or meetings, even though the iconic view might be distracting. But the connection to the environment the pavilion will foster is priceless.

To learn more about UConn Forest, visit forest.uconn.edu.