Focus of 2025 Cottrell-Baldwin lecture series: Exploring local forests and the wildlife that call them home

The N.H. Division of Forests and Lands and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests have announced the topics and presenters for this year’s Cottrell-Baldwin Environmental Lecture Series, “Woodlands, Wildlife and Wisdom—from New England Authors” which begins next week at the Henry I. Baldwin Environmental Center at Fox Forest in Hillsborough. 

For more than twenty years, the Cottrell-Baldwin series has been a highlight of the late winter-early spring season in the Granite State.

“March in New Hampshire has three constants – frost heaves, town elections and the start of the Cottrell-Baldwin lecture series,” said Inge Seaboyer, program forester at the Caroline A. Fox Research and Demonstration Forest. “While we can’t predict how those first two items will play out, we do know that this year’s lineup of speakers for the series is outstanding and everyone attending will learn from their unique experiences and insights.”

Each of the four lectures will be given by well-known authors who will draw on their decades of working in and observing forests, highlighting how people develop relationships not just to the landscapes, but to a wide variety of wildlife as well.

“For 2025, we’ve put together a real powerhouse of a lineup,” said Dave Anderson, senior director of education at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. “Each presenting author is from New England and has a strong fan base so we expect that all four lectures will be big draws.

“We always encourage folks to register in advance, which really helps us manage seating availability for anyone who may decide that evening they’d like to join us.”

The 2025 Cottrell-Baldwin Environmental Lecture series takes place Tuesdays, March 18-April 8, from 7-8:30 p.m., at Fox Forest’s Henry I. Baldwin Environmental Center, 309 Center Road in Hillsborough. 

This year’s topics and speakers are:

-    “Wildlife out Your Window: Fascinating Facts about 100 Animals Commonly Seen in the Northeast U.S.,” by wildlife ecologist Brad Timm; March 18
-    “The Promise of Sunrise: Finding Solace in a Broken World” by naturalist and photographer Ted Levin; March 25
-    “What’s Wild: A Half-Century of Wisdom from the Woods and Rivers of New England,” by bear biologist Eric Orff; April 1
-    “How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World,” by forester Ethan Tapper; April 8

Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase books at the lectures and have them signed by the author.

Full descriptions of each lecture are available on the events section of the Forest Society’s website, forestsociety.org/events. There is no cost to attend walk-ins are welcome, but registration in advance is appreciated.

The Cottrell-Baldwin Lecture series honors the environmental and scholarly legacies of Hillsborough residents Annette and William Cottrell, as well as that of New Hampshire’s first research forester, Henry Ives Baldwin. Directions to Fox State Forest can be found at nhdfl.dncr.nh.gov/contact-us. 

New Hampshire's Division of Forests and Lands is part of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. NHDFL’s mission is to protect and promote the values provided by trees, forests and natural communities. This mission is accomplished through responsible management of the state’s forested resources; by providing forest resource information and education to the public; and through the protection of these resources for the continuing benefit of the state’s citizens, visitors, and forest industry. Learn more at nhdfl.dncr.nh.gov. 

The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests is a private, non-profit statewide land conservation trust and forestry organization established in 1901. The Forest Society currently holds more than 750 conservation easements statewide permanently protecting more than 135,000 acres of New Hampshire’s landscapes. The Forest Society also owns 200 forest reservations constituting more than 64,000 acres in more than 100 New Hampshire communities. Learn more at forestsociety.org. 

###