When the woods are your climate change lab
Science & Tech When the woods are your climate change lab Senior investigator Emery Boose and Director of Outreach & Education Clarisse Hart study changes in the Harvard Forest.Photos by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Alvin Powell Harvard Staff Writer March 5, 2025 9 min read For these researchers, Harvard Forest is a labor of love, and that love is changing David Orwig tries not to think of changes in the natural world as “better” or “worse.” He just sticks with “different.” And after decades of warming winters, Harvard Forest today is decidedly different. “Every day, walking around this forest is just dramatically different than it used to be,” said Orwig, who has worked at the 4,000-acre forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, since 1995 and today is senior ecologist. “When I first started working here, it used to be dark, green, lush, and shady. Now I take groups out there, and the overstory trees are letting in a lot more light....