Beauty, Awe, and Biodiversity in Old Growth Forests with Joan Maloof

Old Growth Forests, natural forests that have grown undisturbed over a long period of time, offer a wide variety of benefits including storing more carbon and nitrogen than typical forests, providing a unique structure that supports rich ecosystems, and offering an example of what nature looks like when it flourishes on its own. Unfortunately, due in large part to human intervention, these old forests are hard to come by - but our guest today wants to change that. 

Joan Maloof is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Salisbury University and the Founder of the Old Growth Forest Network, the only national network of protected, old-growth, native forests in the United States. The organization’s goal is to locate and designate at least one protected old forest in every U.S. county that has the right climate to sustain a forested area. In this conversation, Monica and Jennifer chat with Joan about her journey to founding the Old Growth Forest network, the intricate and rich ecosystems that these old forests support, and beauty as a catalyst for positive change.

Show Notes

• The Old Growth Forest Network
• About Joan Maloof
• Find a Forest
• Nominate a Forest
• Volunteer with the Old Growth Forest Network
• Nature’s Temples: The Complex World of Old Growth Forests by Joan Maloof
• Among the Ancients: Adventures in Eastern Old Growth Forests by Joan Maloof
• Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest by Joan Maloof