Purpose of this Course

(Watch our 3-minute video about or The Woods in Your Backyard program. )

This course promotes the stewardship of small parcels of land for the personal enjoyment of the owners and improved environmental quality for society. If you have 1–10 acres of land in the Eastern United States that is forested or has unmowed natural areas, this course is for you. It is also for you if you have a mowed lawn area that you want to turn into a woodland. 

One of the most effective ways you can improve water and air quality, wildlife habitat, and natural area health is by shifting areas of lawn into unmowed natural areas or woodlands. Over a period of years, this will reduce the time you spend mowing your lawn and give you more time to enjoy your family, property, and hobbies. Our ten-week, self-paced course will teach you how to do this.

Overview of Contents 

Here’s an overview of what this course covers. It will help you:
• Learn why you should manage your land. 
• Map your land and assess why you bought the land (as well as what you hope to get out of it). 
• Understand how your land relates to the land around you.
• Identify habitat units on your property. 
• Learn basics of tree identification, forestry, and wildlife habitat management. 
• Assess your property’s water resources, recreational possibilities, and aesthetic appeal, and ways to improve each. 
• Choose a few land management projects to help meet your goals. 
• Set a timetable and mark your progress.

Each participant will receive three publications: The Woods in Your Backyard (2nd edition) guide; The Woods in Your Backyard Workbook; and Common Native Trees of Virginia Tree Identification Guide. 

Navigating This Course

This course is hosted by the University of Maryland's Electronic Learning Management System (ELMS) and is built on the Canvas learning management system, which is used by educational institutions across the country. The University has prepared an orientation to ELMS that you can find here. To complete the course, you should have a basic knowledge of computers and the Internet, such as how to use browsers to find resources. 

This course closely follows two publications, The Woods in Your Backyard (2nd Edition) and The Woods in Your Backyard Workbook, which each registered participant receives as part of the enrollment.

Canvas and your computer

Canvas is optimized for desktop computers; for more information about accessing the course with other devices, please see this page. As you proceed, you will find links in blue text that will take you to online content. Many of the links will refer to additional readings within the course; others will direct you to content that is found on the University of Maryland Extension Woodland Stewardship Education Links to an external site.website. A third category of links will direct you to external (World Wide Web) content. Most links when clicked will open in a new browser tab.

More details about specific computer requirements are covered in Preparing for this course. You may also be interested in browsing the Canvas "Student Guide" Links to an external site. that may answer particular questions about various parts of the course. (Any questions about the course content should be addressed to the course coordinator; contact information is found in the Announcements section.)

How is the course arranged?

This course is divided into five units called Modules:

• Each Module contains thematically-linked sections which examine the concepts outlined above. 
• Each section is presented as an HTML file and can be navigated within the course window as you would any web page.
• Each Module is followed by a Quiz that will help you assess your understanding of the concepts presented.
• Modules include Activities that will help you better understand your natural areas (see below).

• Each Module is accompanied by a series of numbers that correspond to their location in the Guide or the Workbook. For example:

The section in Module 1 entitled "The Turtle and the Tree," is found on pages 4-5 in the Guide; the code Guide pp. 4-5 accompanies the online title.

• The timetable below shows how long each module should take to complete; however, all materials will be available for the duration of the session.

What are the Activities?

Throughout the course, you will find Activities for you to complete. 

• Each Activity is accompanied by a series of numbers that correspond to their location in the Workbook. For example:

Activity 6, "Assess Tree Reproduction," is found on page 14 in the Workbook and is accompanied by the code Workbook p. 14.

You have the option of completing and submitting each Activity in two ways. You are free to use one or both ways to complete the assignments.

• Completing Activities using the Workbook. Forms or pages in the Workbook can be filled out by hand and submitted electronically, such as an image taken with a smartphone or similar digital device. 
• Completing Activities using the downloadable Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The Activities are downloadable PDF files with fields for you to complete with findings, observations, and information from your own property and your natural area projects. You will need a PDF reader to complete the Activities via this method; two popular choices are Adobe Acrobat Reader Links to an external site. and Foxit Reader Links to an external site.. Both are free for download.

Each Activity page in the course provides detailed instructions on each option.

Are there examples of completed Activities?

You can see completed Activities, presented as examples, from three families: the Nelsons, the Lees, and the Rothmans.

• The Nelsons are our case study family. The course follows them as they complete the activities and discover how they can fulfill their land management goals. The Nelsons’ completed Activities are presented as PDF pages.
• The Lees' completed Activities are here.
• The Rothmans' completed Activities are here. 
• We suggest you read through the Lees' and the Rothmans' case studies early in your learning process and refer to them as needed for specific examples. 

What does that word mean?

Throughout the course, you may encounter italicized boldface links of terms with which you may be unfamiliar. These link to the course's Glossary. You can learn the term's definition by:

• Hovering your cursor over the term will bring up the term's definition, or
• Clicking the term will open the Glossary in a new browser tab.

The first time you click on a Glossary link, you will need to use the menu at the top to jump to the term's first letter. However, if you leave that tab open in your browser for the rest of your session, each subsequent click on a Glossary term will take you directly to the term.

How can I watch the videos?

Throughout the course, you will find short videos, two to five minutes in length. These are produced by Woodland Stewardship Education staff and highlight topics within the text. The first time you visit a page with a video, there will be a blank space accompanied by a short description (for example, "Watch our introduction to Tree Identification (4 minutes), or choose the mobile-friendly version (Links to an external site.)."). Before watching your first video:

• Click on "Panopto Recordings" in the menu to the left.
  
• Wait for the list of available videos has populated
• Once this is completed, you can return to the original page to watch the video.

You should need to do this only once during the course. If the spaces with the video description continue to be blank, please repeat the above process.

How should I complete the course? Can I skip ahead and go back?

The course content is designed to be followed in sequence, so ideally you should read each section in order. Later sections and Activities build on information presented and collected earlier in the course. However, each course page comes with a pair of navigation arrows to help you go forward or back in the sequence, so that you can move ahead or return to earlier pages.

Tentative timetable: Spring, 2025

Getting Started

When you're ready to begin, click on Announcements in the left-hand sidebar for the course calendar. The page provides the latest information for course participants. Next, click on Modules, also in the sidebar. The easiest way to follow the course stream is through the Modules page. Be sure to read each introductory section before diving into each module's content. 

The sidebar can be hidden or displayed by clicking on the three horizontal lines () found next to "WIYB."

This course complements existing research-based information on eastern United States woodland resource and wildlife management. The Resource List, included in the course, has some of this information. Your local cooperative extension office, soil and water conservation district, and state forestry agency are great places to find more information about land-management topics of interest to you. Find the nearest office in the phonebook or search online.

If you complete all or most of the Activities in this course and want to learn more, check with your local cooperative extension office for information about forest landowner education programs in your state. Cooperative extension partners with many organizations to offer more intensive training programs on many topics covered in this course. Educational programs may be an evening, day-long, or weekend-long training. For more information on your state cooperative extension service, visit the US Department of Agriculture's resource here Links to an external site.. This will bring you to a map of the United States; click on your state and information will appear below the map.