Earthwatch is undertaking a comprehensive forest research programme looking at the impacts of climate change on forests. This Climate Center is one of five global research centers.
From the evergreens in Alaska to the scrub pines in Florida, forests across North America are many things to many people: a source of solace and recreation, a source of income, a powerful call to action in a changing climate, and so much more.
But the diverse forests that cover roughly 36 per cent of the land area of North America have been heavily impacted by humans.
The North America Regional Climate Center is based in Edgewater, Maryland, east of the US capital in the Chesapeake Bay region. More than 40 per cent of Maryland is currently covered by forest, which serve many functions, from providing drinking water and jobs, to recreation, timber and hunting.
The Climate Center is located within a 2800-acre swath of the Eastern Deciduous Forest, which has been greatly influenced by human activity. The trees vary greatly in age, many having only recently regenerated from agricultural land that was poorly managed. Research indicates that the forest has been cut down at least once and maybe twice.
Earthwatch is collaborating with two research arms within the internationally renowned Smithsonian Institution: the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), which already holds more than 40 years of forest research data, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), one of the leading research and education centers in the US.
The study aims to reveal which tree species are becoming more common in changing conditions, which trees are being lost, how much carbon is storfed by the trees, and how neighboring trees interact with each other over time. Earthwatch and partners will use this information to make recommendations to forest managers in North America.
Find out more
Learn more about this programme and Earthwatch's role in the HSBC Climate Partnership.
Stakeholder Workshop and Application
More Information
Press Releases
HSBC Corporate Volunteers to Lend a Helping Hand in the Olmsted Parks beginning June 11th
HSBC Corporate Volunteers to Fight Climate Change in the Bronx, June 11
Earthwatch and HSBC fight climate change—one ‘branch’ at a time
Media Gallery
A collection of photos and videos from the North America Regional Climate Center, located at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Maryland.
On-site Earthwatch staff:
Field Director, Dan Stover
Learning and Communications Manager, Rebecca Wadler-Lase
Support and Logistics Officer , Darren Semones 
Key Earthwatch Personnel (in alphabetical order)
Kim Coletti: Regional Manager for the Americas
Alana Jones: Head of Climate Change Field Centers
Kristen Kusek: Public Relations Director
David Morse: Corporate Fellowship Manager
Shelby Semmes: Corporate Fellowship Coordinator
Dan Stover: Field Director
Rebecca Wadler-Lase: Learning and Communications Manager
Darren Semones: Support and Logistics Officer