Tom Wessels, author of “Reading the Forested Landscape” and “Forest Forensics,” will give a special talk titled “Reading the Forested Landscape” on Saturday, October 6at 10:00 am at the Marion Natural History Museum in Marion followed by a walk at Noon at Sippican Lands Trust’s White Eagle property. This special event is co-sponsored by the Marion Natural History Museum and the Sippican Lands Trust with support from a grant from the Marion Cultural Council.
The talk will showcase the ample visual evidence that can be seen in the woods to unravel former agricultural, logging, or wind histories in our forests. Using the shapes of trees, where scars are found on their trunks, stump decay patterns, the construction of stone walls, the surface topography of the forest floor and much more, Tom will show how any forest’s history can be deciphered in great detail. The walk will feature an up-close exploration of some of the forested landscape in Marion which has seen numerous changes in its use over the past few centuries.
The Marion Natural History Museum is located on the second floor of a building they share with the Elizabeth Taber Library located at 8 Spring Street in Marion. Sippican Lands Trust’s White Eagle property is located off of Route 6 in Marion. Take Parlowtown Road across from the town cemetery and follow road until you reach the cul-de-sac. Bear left onto the dirt road and follow past the abandoned cranberry bog on your right. Parking is available directly past the bog and along the dirt roadside. The kiosk is a short walk beyond.
Tom Wessels is a terrestrial ecologist and professor emeritus at Antioch University New England where he founded the master’s degree program in Conservation Biology. He has conducted workshops on ecology and sustainability throughout the country for over three decades. He is the author of numerous books including “Reading the Forested Landscape,” “The Myth of Progress,” “Forest Forensics,” and his latest publication, “Granite, Fire and Fog: The Natural and Cultural History of Acadia.”