Local Wood Use Research Fellow

Smokey House Center Local Wood Use Research Fellow
Living Lab at Smokey House Center
Danby, Vermont
January 2025-April 2025, non-exempt, part-time temporary
Stipend: $4,000, 200 hours @ $20/hr

Smokey House Center is a land-based non-profit located in Danby, VT. In 2023, Smokey House launched its new keystone program, the Living Lab, to address how farms and forests can support economic and ecological prosperity while building resilience to climate change. Through applied research on its 5,000 acre property, they collaboratively develop and trial innovative practices with farmers, foresters, and academics that can be replicated to help others adapt to the climate crisis.

Project Overview
In 2024, Smokey House Center received a grant through the Northern Border Regional Commission’s Forest Economy Program (FEP) to explore how to better incorporate local wood sourced from ecologically responsible forest management into green building design in the Northeast. The project brings together a number of regional partners, including UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, Parsons School of Designs’ Healthy Materials Lab, Vermont Green Building Network, and New Frameworks, to research, design, and build a small pilot housing unit at Smokey House Center that trials and demonstrates how we can best utilize locally sourced wood to incentivize the sort of forest management that builds health and resilience into our forestlands.

Position Focus
Smokey House Center is looking to hire a part-time Local Wood Use Research Fellow to work alongside project partners to develop a resource that identifies the tree species and wood materials to prioritize incorporating into the pilot structure. This resource will be used to inform the design and build team’s efforts and will eventually be developed into a resource used by green builders statewide who want to align their building practices to promote ecologically sound and climate adaptive forest management strategies that supply local, climate-smart housing in the region.

Scope of Work Includes

• Lead research efforts through exploratory research and semi-structured interviews with regional stakeholders (foresters, mill owners, builders, other industry professionals, etc.)
• Work with Smokey House staff to identify species and wood materials to be sourced from the property and used in the build.
• Help develop guidelines for choosing which species to harvest from a property/region for a building project.
  Guidelines will be grounded in the case study of using place-based ecology at Smokey House Center to inform choices.
• Work with project partners to develop “Local Wood Material Use Guide” that will be used as framework for design and build process

Position Requirements

• Complete or in process of completing MF, MS, or degree in equivalent field.
  Self-driven with strong independent research skills.
• Interest/focus in adaptive management strategies in temperate forests and/or in
  evolution of wood products industry in Northeast.
• Strong communication skills, writing ability, and an ability to work collaboratively with others

Additional Benefits

• Access to Smokey House Center facilities and on-site housing for temporary visits
  during duration of work (January-April 2025).

Contact Walker Cammack at [email protected] if you have questions.

Smokey House Center provides equal employment opportunities.

www.smokeyhouse.org