A Christmas Tree Story for Tu B’Shevat

In celebration of this month's Winter Solstice and tomorrow's Full Moon, and in honor of Tu B’Shevat (the New Year for Trees) and the 43rd issue of The Festival of the Trees, I’d like to share this year’s Christmas tree from my home.

Many of you know that most years I like to plant a tree for the winter solstice. This year I cut a small Western White Pine tree (Pinus monticola) to bring inside for our holiday festivities. Our White pine Christmas tree comes with a little story:

This little pine probably sprouted about 12-15 years ago. It was just one among a sea of tiny Western hemlock, Douglas fir, Red alder, Black cottonwood, and assorted wild willow trees. I estimate 12-15 years, because that’s about the time that the land would have been cleared on this property before the house was put in.

The particular spot where our White pine grew happened to be situated right above the septic system and drainage field. Consequently, we have carefully removed hundreds of saplings over the years, usually when they were barely knee-high. We relocated as many trees as possible, but unfortunately some have been sacrificed for the health of our home’s septic system. (As a side note, I’m having great fun learning about Humanure! It WILL be done, oh yes.)

So how did this one White pine remain? I can’t say that I’m entirely sure, but I do know this: around here, the forest knows how to hide things. One day you’re holding your favorite pair of rose-colored sunglasses, they slide carelessly off your nose as you bend down to inspect a lichen, and zzzhoooop! they're gone.

It’s because of the forest’s ability to hide things that I’ll presume this particular White pine chose to remain unnoticed until this year in its full five-meter-high glory. We realized it had grown too big to safely dig around the roots for removal (without potentially damaging a pipe). We decided to honor the tree in the best way the winter would allow.

I used my little bow saw to cut down our tree, and we set it in the front room where it now looks out on the cold ground where it once grew. I’ve never had a White pine for a Christmas tree, but I tell you it’s beautiful – the long needles give it great character, and the big gaps between branches make it easy to see all the ornaments. This tree even came pre-adorned with two great pine cones at the top. The star at the top was made from a shiny paper gift bag given to me by my sister many years ago. Her birthday is tomorrow – HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS!

Join me in ringing in the New Year as we raise a toast to all the trees we love! I encourage you to celebrate the New Year with the planting of a new tree. Make a wish, set a goal, crack a joke, say a prayer, or do a silly little dance… then put a tree in the earth, and nurture accordingly.

Feature Interview: Ben Cohoon of The Arbor Day Foundation

As a follow up to our Book Review of What Tree Is That? by the Arbor Day Foundation, I have invited Ben Cohoon, Manager of the What Tree Is That? project, to join us for a brief interview.

JB: Greetings and thank you for joining us for an interview at Arboreality! I just published a review of your latest book, What Tree Is That? Could you tell us what motivated the Arbor Day Foundation to publish this book?

BC: We were motivated by our members. Our members sincerely love trees but many of them were having a difficult time identifying individual trees. We decided that creating a simple to use, step-by-step guide was the best method to help them discover more about trees.

JB: I believe that it is important for people to be able to identify common plants and animals where they live. What benefits does the Arbor Day Foundation hope to provide by helping people learn tree identification?

BC: Our mission is to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees and having people identify and understand trees helps them to appreciate trees even more and potentially helps them maintain trees. An additional benefit that the book provides is the potentially invasive species guide, this section allows individuals to determine if a tree that is growing is invasive. If it is determined that a tree is not in the right place, then the individual should consider trying to remove it.


JB: What suggestions would you give to parents /educators who would like to teach tree identification to kids?

BC: Play a game. Choose a few trees that you can easily identify and then allow the kids to try to figure out the answer. Everyone loves a mystery and if you can do it outside it’s a win for everyone.

JB: Apart from just getting out into the woods, what are some other ways that the Arbor Day encourages people to get excited about trees?

BC: Planting trees is always a great way to appreciate trees. But if you stop to think about all the benefits that trees provide us from food, clean air, clean water… it is hard not to get excited about trees. This video is my favorite.


JB: What advice would you give to people who get comfortable with What Tree Is That? and want to learn more about trees, or get more involved with conservation efforts?

BC: Arborday.org has a lot of great information on it otherwise many local communities have great non-profit tree planting groups where you could get involved in planting trees in your community. Visit http://www.act.org/ for list of non-profit tree planting groups. The next serious step once you become comfortable with What Tree is That? is to consider becoming a licensed Arborist.


JB: Ben, we thank you again for joining us, and we thank the Arbor Day Foundation for its tireless efforts in support of healthy trees and forests.

We wish to extend special thanks to the Greenleaf Book Group for making this interview possible.

____________________

Ben Cohoon is a Business Ventures Analyst and the Manager of the What Tree Is That? project. Ben has worked at the Arbor Day Foundation for nearly five years and has helped launch or create a number of mission-related projects, programs, or businesses. What Tree Is That? has been one Ben's favorite projects because the book is such a great introduction to the Foundation, it's easy to use, and it really works. Currently along with What Tree Is That? Ben Cohoon is working on Tree Store, Arbor Day Coffee and Hazelnut Consortium

Book Review: What Tree Is That? By The Arbor Day Foundation

What Tree Is That?: A guide to the more common trees found in North America

By The Arbor Day Foundation

The book for today’s review was provided by: GreenLeaf Book Group LLC

Have you ever visited a new place to find that the trees seem to be one nameless sea of green? One of my favorite aspects of travel to any place is the opportunity to see new flora. The Arbor Day Foundation’s latest book What Tree Is That? has just joined the ranks of handy references which I tote along for quick identification during travel.

What Tree Is That? works like a decision tree. The user navigates the book from the general to the specific, starting with location (region) and ending with botanical details like leaf size and shape.

On the big treasure map of tree identification books, What Tree Is That? would be the big red X marked “Start.” There is nothing intimidating about this guide: it fits comfortably in the hand with a durable plastic cover which features key tools like a glossary and a ruler.

Everything about this book lends itself to use with kids, in classrooms, and in everyday excursions to parks and gardens. There is no unapproachable terminology – every botanical word is clearly explained in the glossary. This makes What Tree Is That? effective not only in teaching about trees, but in helping users to learn about the process of tree identification, and the physiology of trees and plants.

What Tree Is That? is inviting. Users are welcomed to the book with a short note from Arbor Day CEO John Rosenow, addressed “Dear Friend”. Novices and experts alike can pick up this book and use it immediately. While this book does not pretend to be a comprehensive identification manual, it does provide the user with a great introduction to common trees of North America.

So why is it important to be able to identify common trees? Just as museums afford us a glimpse at our human history, trees and forests can teach us about our natural history.

I started by flipping ahead past the key and went straight to the mulberry trees. Remember when I was in Pennsylvania, trying to distinguish the black, white, red, and paper mulberries (only to find that they may even be wild hybrids)? This is one of the first books to help clear the air and distinguish each variety in clear, simple terms.

All pictures are hand-drawn which gives the book an attractive, consistent quality. Images reflect the main parts used for identification in this book: leaves, needles, fruits, flowers, and cones. The leaf shapes, qualities, and growth patterns are clearly explained to help those new to tree identification learn what to look for as they observe new species.

While traveling through Oregon in November, I tested out What Tree Is That? to see if it could pinpoint the giant pines growing in the Siskiyou Mountains. Let me walk you through the result:

START: I’m located West of the Rockies --> Go To 68A

68A: This tree bears cones with needle-like leaves (Conifers) --> Go To 69D

69D: Needles are arranged in clusters, tree is evergreen (Pines) --> Go To 70A

70A: Needles are clustered, cones thick and prickly --> Go To 70B

70B: Needles more than 2” long --> Go To 72A

72A: Needles 4-7” long, cones prickly --> 73A Ponderosa Pine (Pinus Ponderosa)

It took me about a minute to walk through these questions and find the tree. Each question discusses a key distinguishing feature allowing only a YES or NO response. This cuts down on confusion and makes it easier for those new to tree identification to get the right answer the first time.



When all trees appear as a nameless sea of green, it may be difficult to recognize the amazing and intricate natural processes which are an ever-present (however unnoticed) part of our lives. Easy-to-use books like What Tree Is That? can help us learn to look carefully, and observe. And once we begin looking and discovering what we once passed by unnoticed, we find ourselves looking for the next resource, asking the next question, and looking for the next tree.