Resilient Sugarbush Management Micro-Credential

Sep 09, 2026 —

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Resilient Sugarbush Management Micro-Credential
Level 1 Available Now | Level 2 Begins September 9
An online course to help maple producers and foresters manage sugarbushes with resilience in mind to sustain maple production capacity into the future.
The Resilient Sugarbush Management Micro-Credential is a new training from University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the UMaine School of Forest Resources, and University of Vermont Extension. The online course teaches maple producers about maple health, identifying risks, and applying science-based approaches to long-term sugarbush management. Enroll in Level 1 and be ready to join Level 2 this fall.
Level 1 (fully asynchronous, self-paced), participants will:
  • Learn how maple trees grow and respond to stress
  • Identify important insects, diseases, and other stressors
  • Explore regeneration and forest health
  • Understand climate risks to sugarbushes
  • Review tapping practices and changing maple technology
Level 2 is a five-week synchronous (Zoom) course led by the sugarbush faculty team and with the first webinar starting September 9. Each week, participants will review readings and videos on Brightspace before joining a live Zoom session from 6:00 to 7/7:30 p.m. During the interactive sessions, participants will engage with instructors and peers, learn new assessment and planning tools, and develop a strategy for conducting a robust assessment of their sugarbush.
Level 2 (self-paced modules plus live webinars) on:
  • September 9: Introductions, Course Overview, and Sugarbush Ecology
  • September 16: Understanding and Assessing Sugarbush Resilience
  • September 23: Planning and Implementing Resilience Strategies
  • September 30: Data and Tools for Assessment: Putting Them into Practice
  • October 7: Case Studies
Level 1 is available now and costs $25 during the program's inaugural year, with fees subsidized through USDA ACER grant funding. 
If you have already completed Level 1, you will be automatically enrolled in Level 2. If you have not yet completed Level 1, now is the time to finish it so you can join the upcoming Level 2 cohort. The cost of Level 2 is fully covered through grant funding.
Level 1 provides 9 Category-1 Society of American Foresters (SAF) CFE credits. Level 2 CFE credits are pending. Each level awards one of three badges that count toward the Resilient Sugarbush Management Micro-Credential. If you have any questions, please contact Chris Liazos cliazos@uvm.edu.
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