American Chestnut tree
Stony Brook University student projects. Following the discovery of this previously unreported, 45-foot tall, disease-free American Chestnut tree in 2024, student researchers will be surveying the woods to find and map all the American Chestnuts in Clara’s Woods.
Stony Brook University students have also documented the geology of Clara’s Woods.
Stony Brook University students have also documented the geology of Clara’s Woods.
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Citizen Science on USA National Phenology Network (NPN). Citizen scientists contribute to national research projects by recording the life cycles of eleven trees in Clara’s Woods – four White Oaks, three Red Maples, two Black Oaks, and two Chestnut Oaks – to contribute to two NPN projects, Quercus Quest and Green Wave. The team of Quercus Quest researchers are specialists in oaks from three universities, Morton Arboretum, and US Geological Survey. With the help of volunteer citizen scientists across the nation, they seek to understand how the exchange of genetic material between White Oak species allows oaks to adapt to new environments, and how oaks then shape the populations of insect and fungal species that depend on them. Green Wave researchers are investigating the effects of climate warming on deciduous trees across the United States, for use in forestry and public health administration via pollen forecasting. The data collected through these efforts have contributed to over 200 peer-reviewed publications.
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Checking for breaking flower buds
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Citizen Science on eBird. Over 110 birds from Clara’s Woods have been reported to eBird, which is another source for research and conservation applications.
Citizen Science on iNaturalist. Clara’s Woods boasts over 1000 iNaturalist observations of insects, birds, mammals, fungi, understory plants, trees, and shrubs. Scientists use verified iNaturalist observations in research of all kinds. So, please join the "Biodiversity of Clara's Woods at SBU" project in iNaturalist, and add your observations.
Citizen Science on iNaturalist. Clara’s Woods boasts over 1000 iNaturalist observations of insects, birds, mammals, fungi, understory plants, trees, and shrubs. Scientists use verified iNaturalist observations in research of all kinds. So, please join the "Biodiversity of Clara's Woods at SBU" project in iNaturalist, and add your observations.
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Tree ID walks. Participants attending Tree ID walks through the Four Harbors Audubon Society learn many fun facts about the oak-hickory forest of the northeast - which tree has leaves shaped like hands, mittens, and gloves (or ghosts playing football with mittens), which oak has small lacy leaves and which has huge asymmetrical leaves, which kind of hickory nut has a shell with a snout and which has a thick, round shell, the sexual orientation of Red Maples, and what smooth patch disease looks like on an oak tree (hint: there is a particular kind of patch on the bark). Please contact us if your group is interested in a Tree ID walk in Clara's Woods.
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October 2025 Four Harbors Audubon Tree ID walk
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A group of Brentwood High School students visiting SBU in July 2025 went on a Tree ID walk in Clara's Woods
October 2024 Four Harbors Audubon Tree ID walk