PROCTORSVILLE, Vt. – Vermont offers some incredible online tools to help you learn more about your land and understand its ecological context. Figuring out how to use them can feel a bit overwhelming. Join the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association (CCCA) as it hosts Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Conservation Planner Jens Hilke for an informative session on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m., at the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library, 473 Main Street in Proctorsville, Vt. Hilke will walk listeners step by step through the Vermont BioFinder mapping tool, which enables users to learn more about what’s on their parcels and how they fit in with larger forest blocks and waterways. He will also offer a preview of upcoming changes to these tools so users can stay ahead and make the most of them in the coming years.
Hilke works for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department as a conservation planning biologist. He helps towns, regional planning commissions, and nongovernmental organizations with their conservation planning efforts. This includes help with GIS natural resource mapping, advice on prioritizing significant natural features, and help with implementing town conservation goals. Hilke did his undergraduate work at Connecticut College in environmental sociology, and then received a master’s degree in botany from the University of Vermont as a field naturalist. Hilke has taught high school science in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, and for a study-abroad program in Thailand.