LEXINGTON, Ky., — University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension has many interesting topics planned for its weekly online program, “From the Woods Today,” in August to help keep cabin fever at bay during the pandemic.

Forestry and Natural Resources Extension offers relevant information about woodlands, wildlife and various related topics each Wednesday at 11 a.m. EDT on the online, social conferencing platform, Zoom, and on Facebook Live. Hosts Billy Thomas and Reneé Williams, UK extension forester and information specialist, respectively, welcome UK specialists who share their vast information on Kentucky’s forests and the creatures that call them home.

“This is a great opportunity to learn more about proper management of your woodlands or just to add additional enjoyment as you’re hiking in the woods,” Williams said.

In August, the series will cover a variety of topics that woodland owners, and woodland visitors, will find both helpful and enjoyable, including invasive species, identifying snakes, culinary tips and general tree information. The following episodes are scheduled for August.

Aug. 5: Preparing Food Plots for Wildlife, taught by UK wildlife specialist Matt Springer; Cooking Wild, led by Martha Yount, regional extension specialist for food and nutrition; and the Tree of the Week with Laurie Thomas, extension forester.

Aug. 12:   Forestry 101, pt. 3, with Jacob Muller, assistant extension professor of hardwood silviculture and forest operations; Snake Identification with Springer, and Laurie Thomas returns with Tree of the Week.

Aug. 19: Springer returns with information about picking and planting food plots; Ellen Crocker, assistant extension professor of forest health, will talk about invasive plants, and Laurie Thomas will highlight the Tree of the Week.

Aug. 26: It’s trees, trees and more trees with segments on tree seedlings with tree improvement specialist Laura DeWald; Laurie Thomas will talk about tree measuring and the Tree of the Week, and Crocker will discuss the citizen science mobile app, Tree Snap.

The link to the Zoom sessions, a list of topics and archived episodes are available at http://www.FromTheWoodsToday.com. Participants will receive a prompt to install Zoom if they haven’t already done it. When asked for an identification number, sign in as a guest. Anyone can join a session, regardless of their location. The episodes are also available on Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/ForestryExtension/.

The UK Cooperative Extension Service is part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. With its land-grant partner, Kentucky State University, UK Cooperative Extension brings the university to the people in their local communities, addressing issues of importance to all Kentuckians.