Ralph Tursini ’99 served in many roles at the 91°”ÍűÊÓÆ” (UVM) Jericho Research Forest over the past 15 years. He taught courses, mentored student interns, coordinated facilities, and managed the forest. Ralph will leave his position with the UVM Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources in December 2021.

As a Forestry student in the late 1990s, Ralph became familiar with the Jericho Research Forest where he participated in course field labs. In a forest fire management course, he and his classmates conducted a prescribed burn in the Forest’s red pine plantation.

“Twenty-five years later, Forestry instructor Luben Dimov uses the previously burned stands in his field courses,” said Ralph who supported faculty teaching and research at the Forest. “His students collect data to understand how to quantify differences between the burned and unburned areas.”

After graduating, Ralph spent a summer doing timber inventories on paper company land in Maine for Forestry alumnus Joe Nelson ‘79 of Upland Forestry. In addition to his forestry skills, Ralph developed a talent for woodworking.

A student internship with premier Vermont furniture makers Beeken Parsons led to a two-year apprenticeship with the craftsmen. Ralph helped to build chairs from black locust trees for the new Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. Then, while working at Woodbury’s, a former wooden bowl manufacturer in Burlington, Vermont, Ralph learned the art and science of woodturning.

His new found craft turned into a livelihood and a college course. He invested in a lathe and started his own bowl making business, which he combined with forestry consulting work for private landowners.

In 2007, Ralph returned to UVM when he teamed up with Forestry alumnus David Brynn ’76, G ‘91 at the Jericho Research Forest. They developed a course called “Woodturning and Forest Conservation,” also known as "Healthy Forests and Humble Bowls." Over seven years, Ralph shared his knowledge of forestry and his gift for woodworking with hundreds of students. He guided each of them in turning a bowl to memorialize their learning experience. Many of the School’s distinguished guests and visitors have received Ralph’s bowls over the years.

In later years, Ralph became a facility coordinator at the Jericho Research Forest and managed daily operations and scheduling, supported faculty research and teaching, and interfaced with the community. He oversaw completion of the Forrest E. Orr Conservation Center from a reconstructed pole barn into a teaching and learning space for classes and events. Ralph also served as caretaker for the historic 1802 Thompson House at the Forest while it awaits renovation.

In more recent years, he worked closely with Professor and Research Forest Director Tony D’Amato and assisted in managing the four UVM research forests administered by the Rubenstein School. Ralph helped to coordinate undergraduate student employees and interns as they installed and collected data from 271 continuous forest inventory (CFI) plots on the Jericho Research Forest and 193 more CFI plots on UVM’s Talcott, Washington, and Wolcott Forests.

“Ralph has been the key cog in so many aspects of the research, teaching, and outreach missions of the UVM Research Forests,” said Tony. “From his direct hand in their stewardship to his incredible role as a mentor to so many students working at our forests, his passion for forestry and helping others has benefited so many people in the UVM community and beyond.”

Ralph oversaw timber harvests on the forests and ensured compliance with sustainable forestry practices. He managed a harvest in the Japanese larch stand and oversaw the processing of the timber into Forest Stewardship Council-certified paneling used in construction of the UVM Alumni House Pavillion. In conjunction, he worked with the The American Chestnut Foundation and Rubenstein School researchers to use the openings in the plantation as test plots for American chestnut plantings. 

“Ralph has been a valued colleague and manager of the School’s Research Forests,” said Rubenstein School Dean Nancy Mathews. “He established close partnerships with Forestry Program faculty and students and U.S. Forest Service researchers to ensure a vibrant teaching and learning program.”

Ralph supervised numerous Rubenstein School Perennial Summer Interns and other undergraduate and graduate students working at the School’s Research Forests. He has also supported the student Forestry Club by offering hands-on stewardship and training opportunities.

“I most appreciated working with students,” said Ralph. “I enjoyed deepening their connection to the forest by helping them learn practical skills and apply classroom learning to on-the-ground work that benefits the forest.”

Join Ralph for an outdoor bonfire celebration, hot chocolate, and s’mores at Jericho Research Forest on Tuesday, December 21 at 4:30pm. Please RSVP at rsenr@uvm.edu.