TREE ID on August 10th

Sunny skies greeted a full complement of 15 members participating in our August Tree ID Walk at Shope Creek.  It was ably led by Dave Ellum, Dean of Land Resources and Professor of Forestry at Warren Wilson College.  In addition to covering identification tips for about 30 species of trees, Dave also shared a great deal of information about forest management, silviculture, and medicinal understory plants.  The group witnessed first hand the impact of badly managed clear cutting and the impact on the forest decades later.  Dave also shared provocative views regarding the management of exotic invasive plants and the efforts to save our chestnuts and hemlocks.  It was an interesting and entertaining outing for those of us lucky enough to participate.