SOUTH PARIS — Haydn Suske-Funk has recently joined the Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District as a community tree steward.

Funded through AmeriCorps and the U.S. Forest Service, Maine’s Community Tree Steward program offers opportunities for individuals to lead forestry resiliency projects that engage residents in underserved communities. Program applicants are placed at host sites through the Maine Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Maine’s environment and natural resources, according to a news release from Chantelle Hay, education and outreach coordinator with the district.

Over his yearlong term of service, Suske-Funk aims to support the mission of the conservation district: to provide leadership, education, and technical knowledge in the management and conservation of natural resources by integrating and disseminating local, state and federal resources.

He is tasked with carrying out the Climate Resilience and Agroforestry project, promoting forest health through demonstrating new forest conservation practices related to agroforestry, timber stand improvement, soil health and Invasive Forest Pest Management.

Suske-Funk recently graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont with a degree in biology and environmental studies. He hails from Northern Wisconsin, where he grew up exploring pristine forests and crystal-clear lakes. He spent this past summer working for the Forest Service and hiking in the Green Mountains.

Suske-Funk can assist Oxford County landowners, community groups, land trusts, schools, and other partners in the following areas:

• Forest inventories and forest community mapping;

• invasive plant inventory and removal;

• restoration projects;

• invasive pest monitoring; and

• education and outreach programs related to forestry and natural resources.

Those interested in any of these services can email Suske-Funk at [email protected].

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