Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a

professional school Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. It was founded to train

forester A forester is a person who practises forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests to ...

s, and now trains environmental leaders through four 2-year degree programs (

Master of Environmental Management The M.E.M. (Master of Environmental Management) is a degree designed for students with primary interests in careers in environmental policy and analysis, stewardship, education, Consultant, consulting, or management dealing with natural resource or ...

, Master of

Environmental Science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...

, Master of

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

, and Master of Forest Science), two 10-month mid-career programs, and a 5-year PhD program. YSE strives to create new knowledge that will sustain and restore the health of the biosphere and emphasizes the possibility of creating a regenerative coexistence between humans and non-human life and the rest of the natural world. Still offering forestry instruction, the school has the oldest graduate forestry program in the United States. The school changed its name to the Yale School of the Environment in July 2020. It was previously the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

History

The school was founded in 1900 as the Yale Forest School, to provide high-level forestry training suited to American conditions. At the urging of Yale alumnus

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsy ...

, his parents endowed the two-year postgraduate program. At the time Pinchot was serving as

Bernhard Fernow Bernhard Eduard Fernow ( ; January 7, 1851 – February 6, 1923) was the third chief of the USDA's Division of Forestry of the United States from 1886 to 1898, preceding Gifford Pinchot in that position, and laying much of the groundwork for the e ...

's successor as Chief of the Division of Forestry (predecessor of the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

, USFS). Pinchot released two foresters from the division to start the school: fellow Yale graduate Henry Solon Graves and

James Toumey James Toumey (1865-1932) was a pioneer in American forestry, an influential botanist, and a distinguished educator at the Yale School of Forestry (now the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies). Early life and education James William ...

. Graves became the School's first dean and Toumey its second. When the school opened, other places in the United States offered forestry training, but none had a post-graduate program. (Both Pinchot and Graves had gone to Europe to study forestry after graduating from Yale.) In the fall of 1900, the

New York State College of Forestry at Cornell The New York State College of Forestry at Cornell was a statutory college established in 1898 at Cornell University to teach scientific forestry. The first four-year college of forestry in the country, it was defunded by the State of New York in 1 ...

had 24 students,

Biltmore Forest School The Biltmore Forest School was the first school of forestry in North America. Carl A. Schenck founded this school of "practical forestry" in 1896 on George W. Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina.Fifty Years of Forestry ...

9, and Yale 7. Despite its small size, from its beginnings the school influenced American forestry. The first two chiefs of the USFS were Pinchot and Graves; the next three were graduates from the school's first decade. Wilderness and land conservation advocate

Aldo Leopold Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 – April 21, 1948) was an American writer, philosopher, naturalist, scientist, ecologist, forester, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his ...

graduated in the class of 1908. In 1915, Yale School of Forestry's second dean, James Toumey, became one of the "charter members", along with

William L. Bray William L. Bray (September 19, 1865 in Burnside, IllinoisBRAY, William L.
in ''

of the

New York State College of Forestry The New York State College of Forestry, the first professional school of forestry in North America, opened its doors at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, in the autumn of 1898., It was advocated for by Governor Frank S. Black, but after jus ...

, by then reestablished at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, and

Raphael Zon Raphael Zon (December 1, 1874 - October 27, 1956) was a prominent U.S. Forest Service researcher. Early life Raphael Zon was born in Simbirsk in the Russian Empire in 1874, to parents Gabriel Zon and Eugenia Berliner. A schoolmate of Lenin's ...

, of the

Ecological Society of America The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...

. In 1950, the "activist wing" of that society formed

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

. Besides the school's own forests, Yale has used a number of other sites in the eastern United States for field education over the years. From 1904 to 1926, the summer session leading to a master's degree in forestry was held at

Grey Towers Grey Towers was a crenellated mansion with 85 acres of grounds on Hornchurch Road in Hornchurch, England. It was built in 1876 and brought into public use as the New Zealand Convalescent Hospital during the First World War. In the interwar period ...

and

Forester's Hall Forester's Hall, also known as Forest Hall, is a historic commercial building located at Milford, Pike County, Pennsylvania. The original section was built in 1886, and expanded in 1904. It is a large three-story, eight-bay wide building constr ...

Milford, Pennsylvania Milford is a borough in Pike County, Pennsylvania and the county seat. Its population was 1,103 at the 2020 census. Located on the upper Delaware River, Milford is part of the New York metropolitan area. History The area along the Delaware Ri ...

. ''Note:'' This includes Beginning in 1912, Yale classes took occasional field trips to the land of the Crossett Lumber Company in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. For two decades from 1946 until 1966, the company provided the school a "camp," including cabins and a mess hall, used during spring coursework on forest management and wood products production. Yale students have also used a field camp at th
Great Mountain Forest
in northwestern Connecticut since 1941. Reflective of the expanding variety of environmental interests, the school changed its name to the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in 1972. Today, YSE is a leader in global sustainability, hosting the bi-annua
Yale Environmental Sustainability Summit
to assemble thought leaders from around the globe. The school's 16th and present dean i
Ingrid "Indy" Burke
who replaced Sir Peter Crane in October, 2016. The school changed its name to Yale School of the Environment in July 2020 and, within the school, created a distinct Forest School with dedicated faculty and degrees. It also teaches the Yale College undergraduate courses needed for the Environmental Studies major.

School buildings

The school offers classes at Kroon Hall, Sage Hall, Greeley Labs, Marsh Hall, the Environmental Science Center, and the houses at 301 Prospect St. and 380 Edwards St. Kroon Hall, the school's main building, is named for the philanthropist Richard Kroon (Yale Class of 1964). The building has of space. It is "a showcase of the latest developments in green building technology, a healthy and supportive environment for work and study, and a beautiful building that actively connects students, faculty, staff, and visitors with the natural world." The building obtained Platinum Rating under the

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

certification system. It is designed by

Hopkins Architects Hopkins Architects (formerly Michael Hopkins and Partners) is a prominent British architectural firm established by architects Sir Michael and Patricia, Lady Hopkins. Background The practice was established in 1976 by Michael and Patty Hopkins ...

of London with Architect of Record

Centerbrook Architects & Planners Centerbrook Architects & Planners is an American architecture firm founded in 1975 and based in Centerbrook, Connecticut. Centerbrook is one of 37 active firms nationwide to have won the Architecture Firm Award, annually bestowed by the American Ins ...

. Goodfellow Inc from Delson, Quebec, supplied the

glulam Glued laminated timber, commonly referred to as glulam, is a type of structural engineered wood product constituted by layers of dimensional lumber bonded together with durable, moisture-resistant structural adhesives so that all of the grain ru ...

roof structure for this project.

School forest

The school owns and manages of forestland in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. The Yale Myers Forest, in

Union, Connecticut Union is a town located in the northeastern part of Tolland County, Connecticut, United States and is part of the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor. The population was 785 at the 2020 census, making it the least ...

, donated to Yale in 1930 by alumnus George Hewitt Myers, is managed by the school as a multiple-use working forest. Yale-Toumey Forest, near

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in, and the County seat, seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Keene is ho ...

, was set up by James W. Toumey (a former dean of the school) in 1913. Other Yale forestlands include Goss Woods, Crowell Forest, Cross Woods,

Bowen Forest Bowen Forest in Mount Holly, Vermont, United States, is a component of the Yale Forests system. This system also includes the 7,800-acre (32 km²) Yale-Myers Forest located in the towns of Union, Ash-ford, East-ford, and Woodstock, CT, and the 1, ...

, and Crowell Ravine. A three-alarm fire burned several buildings within the Yale Myers Forest Camp on May 28, 2016. The damaged camp buildings and a new research center were rebuilt in 2017.

Student life

The school has an active tradition of student involvement in academic and extracurricular life. Many students take part in student interest groups, which organize events around environmental issues of interest to them. These groups range in interest from Conservation Finance and International Development, to the Built Environment and "Fresh & Salty: The Society for Marine and Coastal systems". There are also social and recreational groups, such as the Forestry Club, which every Friday organizes themed "TGIF" ("Thank-God-I'm-a-Forester") happy hours and school parties; the Polar Bear club, which swims monthly in Long Island Sound under the full moon (year-round); Veggie Dinner, which is a weekly vegetarian dinner club; the Loggerrhythms, an a cappella singing group; and the student-run BYO Café in Kroon Hall opened in 2010. A notable YSE tradition is the extravagant environmentally inspired decoration of graduation caps in preparation for commencement.

Notable graduates

Frances Beinecke Frances G. Beinecke (born August 2, 1949) is an environmental activist and politician. She served as the former president of the Natural Resources Defense Council from 2006 to 2015. Early life and education Beinecke is the youngest of four child ...

'71 BA, '74 MFS, President,

Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bo ...

; member,

National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling The National Commission on the BP ''Deepwater Horizon'' Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling is a bipartisan presidential commission, established by Executive Order 13543 signed by Barack Obama on May 21, 2010, that is "tasked with providing recommend ...

(2010) *

Richard M. Brett Richard M. Brett (September 3, 1903 – September 7, 1989) was an American conservationist and author. Biography Early life Brett was born in Darien, Connecticut and spent most of his life in Woodstock, Vermont, and Fairfield, Connecticut. Br ...

, conservationist *

Ian Cheney Ian Cheney is an American documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and producer. Early life and education Cheney grew up in Massachusetts and Maine, attended The Mountain School, a semester school for high school juniors, and graduated from Milt ...

'02 BA, '03 MEM, Emmy-nominated filmmaker * William Wallace Covington,'76 PhD Regents' Professor,

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

* Alphonse "Buddy" Fletcher Jr., '04 MEM * Emanuel Fritz, professor known as "Mr. Redwood" * Carmen R. Guerrero Pérez '10 MEM, director of the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division of the Environmental Protection Agency * William B. Greeley, Chief, U.S. Forest Service, 1920–1928 * Christopher T. Hanson '96 M.E.M./M.A.R. Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2021– * Stuart L. Hart '76 MFS, academic addressing global poverty and economic development, professor emeritus at Cornell University *

Phillip Hoose Phillip M. Hoose (born May 31, 1947) is an American writer of books, essays, stories, songs, and articles. His first published works were written for adults but he turned his attention to children and young adults, in part to keep up with his dau ...

'77 MFS, author *

Ralph Hosmer Ralph Sheldon Hosmer (March 4, 1874 - July 20, 1963) was Hawaii's first territorial forester, a contemporary of Gifford Pinchot who was among the group of educated American foresters that organized what is now the United States Forest Service. Hos ...

, pioneering Hawaiian forester *

Edward M. Kennedy Jr. Edward Moore Kennedy Jr. (born September 26, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a partner at Epstein Becker & Green, a firm headquartered in New York City, and previously represented Connecticut's 12th State Senate district in the ...

'91 MES, attorney and Connecticut state senator *

'08, conservationist and author of ''

A Sand County Almanac ''A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There'' is a 1949 non-fiction book by American ecologist, forester, and environmentalist Aldo Leopold. Describing the land around the author's home in Sauk County, Wisconsin, the collection of essa ...

'' * H. R. MacMillan, forester and industrialist * John R. McGuire, Chief, U.S. Forest Service, 1972–1979 * Thornton T. Munger, pioneering U.S. Forest Service researcher; civic activist who helped create

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...

Mark Plotkin Mark J. Plotkin (born May 21, 1955) is an ethnobotanist and a plant explorer in the Neotropics, where he is an expert on rainforest ecosystems. Plotkin is an advocate for tropical rainforest conservation and host of Plants of the Gods: Hallucinog ...

'81 MFS, ethnobotanist, explorer, and activist *

Robert Michael Pyle Robert Michael Pyle (born 19 July 1947) is an American lepidopterist, writer, teacher, and founder of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Much of his life story is told in the 2020 feature film ''The Dark Divide'', where Pyle i ...

'76 PhD,

lepidopterist Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, t ...

and John-Burroughs-Medal–winning author, subject of

The Dark Divide ''The Dark Divide'' is a 2020 feature film based on the memoir ''Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide'' by Robert Michael Pyle. Plot Pyle, a lepidopterist, sets out on a 30-day trek through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest to docum ...

* Samuel J. Record, botanist * Ferdinand A. Silcox, Chief, U.S. Forest Service, 1933–1939 *

David Martyn Smith David Martyn Smith (March 10, 1921 – March 7, 2009), a United States forester and educator, was a founder of the field of forest stand dynamics. He was the Morris K. Jesup Professor of Silviculture at Yale University, the manager of the univers ...

, forester and educator, author of ''The Practice of Silviculture'' * Robert Y. Stuart, Chief, U.S. Forest Service, 1928–1933 * Dorceta E. Taylor ’85 MFS, ’91 PhD, environmental sociologist and preeminent scholars in the field of environmental justice,

Rae Wynn-Grant Rae Wynn-Grant is a large carnivore ecologist and a fellow with National Geographic Society. She is best known for her research of the human impact on the behavior of black bears in Montana and is an advocate for women and people of color in the s ...

'10 MESc, large carnivore ecologist and a fellow with

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

. *Mirei Endara de Heras '94 MES, Panamanian government official and board member of Fundación Smithsonian *Eleanor J. Sterling '93 PhD, conservation scientist, American Museum of Natural History

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Forestry education Forestry in the United States History of forestry education Educational institutions established in 1900 Environmental education in the United States Environmental studies institutions in the United States 1900 establishments in Connecticut