Duke Forest

Schmidt Science Fellows from universities across the world explored the Duke Forest during the program’s annual Interdisciplinary Science Summit, hosted at Duke University this year. The internationally recognized fellowship prepares emerging scientists to tackle society’s greatest challenges through interdisciplinary research, collaboration, and leadership.

During their visit, Fellows learned about the Forest’s history and ecology while practicing reading the landscape and discovering how management decisions made decades or even centuries ago continue to shape the Forest’s ecosystems, research opportunities, and educational value today.

🐻 Black bears are a natural part of North Carolina's wildlife, and recent sightings in and near the Duke Forest are normal—especially during the warmer months as bears disperse in search of new territory. In most cases, bears are simply passing through and will move on if they don't find an easy food source.

If you encounter a bear, give it plenty of space, never approach or feed it, and allow it a clear path to leave the area.

➡️ Swipe through BearWise safety tips and best practices to learn how to responsibly coexist with black bears.

Today is the final day of Duke University's fiscal year.

If you have ever found peace beneath the trees, watched wildlife along a trail, listened to water flowing through a creek, or simply felt restored by time spent in the Duke Forest, we invite you to give back.

Your support helps restore ecosystems like New Hope Creek, advance climate-related research, and connect students with the lessons that only nature can teach.

Make your gift before midnight tonight, and help restore the Forest that restores so many.

https://www.gifts.duke.edu/dukeforest?designation=3992433&technique_code=ENVFORST