UNB Forestry and Environmental Management

09/05/2026

We’re so excited to welcome Craig to our Faculty! 🌲

He’s already hit the ground running, bringing great energy, enthusiasm, and fresh ideas to the faculty. We’re thrilled to have him with us and know he’s going to be a fantastic addition to our Faculty community.

Welcome aboard, Craig - we’re very glad you’re here with us!

UNB has announced Dr. Craig MacEachern as its first Research Chair in Digital Agriculture!

The chair, established through financial support from McCain Foods, Research NB, and the Government of New Brunswick’s Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, as well as from Farm Credit Canada, will work at the intersection of research, technology, and real-world agriculture. This chair is part of a larger initiative to advance digital agriculture in the province, ushered in part by UNB’s McKenna Institute.

Congratulations Craig!

Read more ➡️ https://bit.ly/4gNqqBq

09/04/2026

A first day of orientation — ForEM style. 🌲
Today we welcomed our 2026 undergraduate students to UNB ForEM with an orientation that took learning beyond the classroom and into the field.
We started by asking our students what they were most excited - and most nervous - about as they begin their first term. Their answers said a lot: learning, being outside, fieldwork, meeting people, labs, workload, exams… and even bears 🐻 and mosquitoes 🦟.
Then after some time in the computer lab, it was time to get outside.
Students spent the day meeting classmates, faculty and staff while getting a first look at the kind of hands-on learning that will be part of their time at ForEM - from forest and plant identification to field equipment, technology and drone demonstrations.
There’s a lot to take in on your first day at university. New people, new places, new challenges and plenty still unknown. But if today was any indication, this group is ready to get started.
Welcome to UNB ForEM incoming undergraduate of 2026. We’re so glad you’re here. 🌲❤️

08/28/2026

New Master of Science in Forestry (MScF) opportunity! 🌲

High-throughput phenotyping black spruce stress resilience, co-supervised by Dr. Funda Ogut (Canadian Forest Services) and Dr. Christopher Wong (ForEM).

Start Date: January 2027

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of drought events while also influencing forest insect disturbances such as spruce budworm outbreaks, both of which threaten forest health and productivity. Research will involve greenhouse data collection where the candidate will gain experience in plant science, remote sensing, and geomatics. The candidate will assess a broad range of meteorological and physiological traits to develop high-throughput phenotyping approaches to screen black spruce populations with enhanced resilience to environmental stressors. Results will benefit forest industry’s needs for improving forest resilience under increasing environmental pressures.

➡️ Swipe for more details on qualification requirements, operational requirements, and the application process.

08/25/2026

Fall 2026 Undergraduate ForEM Course Highlights!

📚 Looking to build your schedule for the upcoming semester? Need an elective and don’t know what to add? 🌲🌎

Your next favourite course might be waiting for you! Swipe through to check them out ➡️

🌿 ENVM 1001: Professional skills in Forestry & Environmental Management

Learn the professional basics in clear and effective organization, communication, problem solving, and time management. This course sets up students for professional success – setting you up with all the skills necessary to secure a summer job.

📈ENVM 2101: Ecosystem Valuation

Previously titled Environmental Economics, this core focus is on advanced applications of economic analysis to the use and preservation of natural resources, including water, air, land, and renewable energy. Students will explore in-depth topics such as carbon accounting, market mechanisms for environmental management, and the economic impacts of climate change.

📙ENVM 3000: Indigenous Perspectives in Natural Resource Stewardship

This course introduces students to Indigenous culture, knowledge and worldviews as these relate to both Indigenous and western traditions of natural resource management. The course will cover Indigenous understandings of relationships with nature and basic introduction to institutional and policy issues.

💧ENVM 4111: Applied Aquatic Science Techniques

Gain knowledge in techniques used commonly in aquatic science, getting practical experience in various sampling and analysis techniques, including: stream habitat characterization, water quality and quantity assessment, macroinvertebrate collections, and laboratory methods for sample preparation and analysis. This course does have pre-requisites.

Interested in any of these? Add them to your schedule via UNB course registration and make the most of your semester! 📚

08/25/2026

Fall 2026 Undergraduate ForEM Course Highlights!

📚 Looking to build your schedule for the upcoming semester? Need an elective and don’t know what to add? 🌲🌎

Your next favourite course might be waiting for you! Swipe through to check them out ➡️

🌲 FOR 1001: Intro to Forestry & Environmental Management

Learn about New Brunswick's flora by learning to identify plan species, interpret characteristics, understand environmental requirements, and analyze site conditions! This course has a fun, interactive, outdoor lab component that takes place at the UNB Forest (transportation included).

🌎 FOR 2281: Introduction to GIS for Forestry & Environmental Management

This course introduces students to core geographic information system (GIS) terminology, tools and workflows using practical examples before proceeding to more advanced spatial analysis techniques. Material is presented in an online platform, with lab-based tutorial sessions and assumes no prior GIS knowledge.

📜 ENVM 3010: Natural Resource Law & Policy

Discover how environmental laws shape decisions that impact our land, water, forests, and future. Explore the policies and regulatory frameworks that guide natural resource management across local and global scales, and gain insight into the legal foundations behind today's environmental challenges.

Interested in any of these? Add them to your schedule via UNB course registration and make the most of your semester! 📚

08/25/2026

Fall 2026 Graduate ForEM Course Highlights!

📚 Looking to build your schedule for the upcoming semester? Need an elective and don’t know what to add? 🌲🌎

Your next favorite course might be waiting for you! Swipe through to check them out ➡️

👥 ENVM 6001: Nature, Society, & Social Management

Lean to interpret the social aspects of the environment through analyses the "classics" of natural resource management. This course examines sustainability, resilience, growth, degrowth, and human relationships with environmental conditions.

📜 ENVM 6010: Environmental Law

Discover how environmental laws shape decisions that impact our land, water, forests, and future. Explore the policies and regulatory frameworks that guide natural resource management across local and global scales, and gain insight into the legal foundations behind today's environmental challenges.

📈 ENVM 6101: Environmental Economics

The core focus is on advanced applications of economic analysis to the use and preservation of natural resources, including water, air, land, and renewable energy. Students will explore in-depth topics such as carbon accounting, market mechanisms for environmental management, and the economic impacts of climate change.

🌎 FOR 6281: GIS Applications in Forestry & Environmental Management

This course introduces students to core geographic information system (GIS) terminology, tools and workflows using practical examples before proceeding to more advanced spatial analysis techniques. Material is presented in an online platform, with lab-based tutorial sessions and assumes no prior GIS knowledge.

Interested in any of these? Add them to your schedule via UNB course registration and make the most of your semester! 📚

08/21/2026

MSc in Forestry Oral Examination - Madison White

August 27, 2026 - 1PM (ADT)

FG202 & Teams (email [email protected] for MS Teams link)

Environmental Drivers of Plant Species Richness for the Restoration of Appalachian Hardwood Forests

Research Summary

The Appalachian Hardwood Forest (AHF) is a threatened forest community in western New Brunswick and eastern Maine, reduced to less than 1% of its original extent by land clearing. We examined environmental drivers of herbaceous species richness across 145 plots at 19 sites in western New Brunswick and developed a rapid assessment tool to support AHF restoration. Herbaceous richness was most strongly associated with soil pH, overstory composition, and basal area, increasing with soil pH and rich temperate hardwood and balsam fir composition, but decreasing with overstory and understory basal area. These findings identify key conditions supporting diverse AHF communities and inform restoration and recovery assessment.

Chaired By Dr. Chris Wong, ForEM

Examiners:

Jae Ogilvie, ForEM
Dr. Mark Sherrard, UNB Biology

Supervisory Committee:

Dr. Graham Forbes, Supervisor, ForEM
Dr. Loic D'Orangeville, Co-Supervisor, Université Laval
Dr. Rafaella Mayrinck, ForEM

08/21/2026

MSc Forestry Engineering Oral Examination ~ Sima Heshmati

August 26, 2026 - 10AM (ADT)

F202 & Teams (email [email protected] for MS Teams link)

Assessment of Esterified Wood and its Structural Application

Research Summary

Wood is hygroscopic, causing dimensional instability under changing environmental conditions. This study evaluated whey ultrafiltration permeate (WUFP) and citric acid (CA) as a bio-based polyesterification treatment for trembling aspen and black spruce, including their use in three-layer glulam. The treatment improved dimensional stability and modulus of elasticity, with anti-swelling efficiency reaching 41.62% in aspen and 30.58% in spruce. However, modulus of rupture and glulam bending strength generally decreased. While block shear strength met CSA O122 requirements, most specimens failed the delamination criterion. Overall, WUFP-CA shows potential for improving wood stability and stiffness, but bonding performance requires further optimization.

Chair: Dr. Graham Forbes, ForEM Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies

Examiners:
Dr. Clodualdo Aranas, UNB Mechanical Engineering, Internal Examiner
Dr. Ling Li, U of Maine, ForEM Adjunct, External Examiner

Supervisory Committee:
Dr. Meng Gong, ForEM Supervisor
Dr. Alireza Kaboorani, Red River College, ForEM Adjunct
Dr. Zhibin (Ben) He, UNB Chemical Engineering

08/18/2026

Big news: We're launching a new stream of our Master of Forestry program - Digital Forestry (MF-DF) - with its inaugural cohort starting in Fall 2026.🌲📡

Today's forests are studied through LiDAR scans, drone/satellite imagery, and huge inventory databases, alongside traditional fieldwork. This program is designed to give forestry graduates (or equivalent) the machine learning, computer vision, and geospatial analysis skills to work confidently with both.

No computer science degree required. No supervisor needed to apply. Just curiosity and a bit of Python (and we'll help with that part!).

In this 12-month program, students will complete two terms of graduate-level courses in GIS, remote sensing and analytics. This is capped by summer term consisting of an applied, team-based practicum on a live forestry problem with an external partner.

🔗https://forem.ext.unb.ca/digital-forestry.html

08/17/2026

Master of Science in Forestry Oral Examination - Daniel Snow
Friday, August 21, 2026 - 10AM

FG202 & Teams (email [email protected] for MS Teams link)

Modelling and Mapping Likely Soil Rutting Occurrences in Forest Cutblocks

This thesis assesses where ruts are likely to occur during in-field forest operations. High-resolution surface images across New Brunswick (NB) were used to identify 1,500 locations where ruts had (1) and had not (0) occurred along one-track passes in recent harvest blocks. Using the NB-wide 1 m digital elevation model (DEM), each location was assigned depth-to-water (DTW), topographic position index (TPI), slope, curvature, terrain wetness index (TWI), and soil type.

Chaired by: Dr. Graham Forbes, ForEM Assistant Dean Graduate Studies

Examiners:

Dr. Charles Bourque, ForEM, Internal Examiner
Dr. John Spray, UNB Geology, External Examiner

Supervisory Committee:

Dr. Paul Arp, Supervisor, ForEM
Jae Ogilvie, ForEM
Dr. Fan-Rui Meng, ForEM