Second Annual Forest Landscape Restoration Symposium and Reception
Details
Note: Yale School of the Environment (YSE) was formerly known as the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES). News articles and events posted prior to July 1, 2020, refer to the School's name at that time.
Summary
Hosts: Yale University’s Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative (ELTI); Wildlife Conservation Society Rwanda (WCS).
Date: Friday, June 5, 2026, 2:30pm-8:00pm
Location: Grazia Apartments & Hotel, Kimihurura, Kigali, Rwanda
Event Description: The Forest Landscape Restoration Symposium is a gathering of practitioners, scientists, students, and leaders interested in forest landscape restoration (FLR) across Africa. This event provides an opportunity for those involved in FLR to exchange ideas and connect with colleagues working at different scales and in an array of geographies. The symposium will feature Yale senior lecturer and longtime conservation practitioner Dr. Amy Vedder as well as staff and past participants of ELTI’s capacity development programs. The symposium’s unique set of speakers will highlight practical experiences and perspectives on key challenges and solutions in their FLR work. Talks from practitioners and ELTI past participants will focus on bridging gaps—global to local, science to practice, projects to policies, and trees to technology—to foster a more productive, resilient, and biodiverse forested landscape.
Audience: Practitioners, scientists, students, and leaders championing ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, nature-based livelihoods and enterprises, or similar projects.
Generous support for this event is provided by the Yale and The World Partnership Fund at Yale University.
Content
This event will feature a series of lecture-style and interactive sessions by leading experts in forest restoration and conservation from Rwanda and from Yale School of Environment as well as ELTI alumni leading sustainable land use initiatives.
Speakers:
- Dr. Amy Vedder, Senior Lecturer, Yale School of the Environment
- Dr. Maurice Mugabowindekwe, Remote Sensing Analyst, Rwanda Space Agency
- Providence Mujawamariya, Agroforestry Researcher and Project Coordinator, CIFOR-ICRAF Rwanda
- Angelina Serwaa ('26 MEM, '24 TFL), restoration ecologist, Yale School of the Environment
- Dr. Adrie Mukashema, GIS & Land Management Expert, Founder & Managing Director SAVELAND CONSULTANT Company (SALA)
Agenda:
- 2:30-3:00pm: Registration, coffee, tea, light snacks
- 3:00-3:15pm: Welcome from the WCS-ELTI team
- 3:15-3:45pm: From the field to the classroom: Reflections from 15 years of teaching conservation design and practice by Dr. Amy Vedder
-
3:45-5:30pm Notes from the Field: 20-minute talks followed by panel Q&A
- Public investments in restoration to community impact by Dr. Adrie Mukashema
- Science to practice: How post-fire assisted natural regeneration is shaping Nyungwe National Park by Angelina Serwaa (virtual)
- Projects to policy by Providence Mujawamariya
- Trees to technology by Dr. Maurice Mugabowindekwe
- 5:30-6:00pm: Roundtable Discussion: Experiences across scale
- 6:00-8:00pm: Reception with finger foods and beverages
