Many people know how to identify trees by their leaves, but what about when those leaves have fallen or are out of reach? Bark is available year round.
Michael Wojtech, author of the seminal guide to bark, our required text for the class, will deepen your ability to notice details and your perception of trees. The class will teach you a system for noticing the beautiful variety of bark characteristics and for using these traits to identify tree species in any season. You will also discover the function and ecological role of bark. Why do some species have smooth bark, while on others it is thick and broken? Why does bark peel?
Between sessions participants will be assigned a few sections to read from our text and asked to choose a tree near their home to study and photograph so that they can share their observations with our group during session 2.
Required text: Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. Can be ordered from Michael (he will send you signed copies) at: https://knowyourtrees.com or from your local bookstore (NHSM also has a few copies in the gift shop).
Cancellations must be made more than 7 days prior to the start of the class or no refunds can be offered.
About Michael Wojtech: As a freelance naturalist, writer, photographer, illustrator and educator, Michael strives to share the science and beauty of natural history in an accessible and compelling fashion through presentations, participatory activities, and outdoor exploration. He writes and teaches about the structure, growth processes, and ecology of trees—including their bark, buds, leaves, roots, and wood—for audiences at all levels of experience, and explores how knowing the natural history of the places we live and love fosters connection and the feeling of home.
Michael earned his masters degree in Conservation Biology from Antioch University New England in Keene, NH. He is the author of Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast and co-author of Drawing Leaves and Trees: Observing and Sketching the Natural World.