Reading the forested landscape with Tom Wessels (afternoon)

The landscape is full of clues to its history when you know how to read it!

During this guided walk, participants will join Tom Wessels to learn about the art of forest forensics at the to-be-opened Taghkanic Community Forest. Using ecological features and historical land use markers as guides, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the land’s past and a new way of seeing forests.

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. As a generalist, Wessels’ interests include forest, desert, alpine, and arctic ecosystems, as well as geomorphology, evolutionary ecology, complex systems science, and the interface of landscape and culture. His background in ecology and complexity allows Tom to apply the principles of self-organization and co-evolution to examine human systems, such as the workings of an organization or even an economic system. His books include Reading the Forested Landscape, The Granite Landscape, Untamed Vermont, The Myth of Progress, Forest Forensics, and Granite, Fire, and Fog: The Natural and Cultural History of Acadia. Tom has conducted workshops on ecology and sustainability throughout the United States for over three decades.

What’s involved: We will walk up to 2 miles along Community Forest Road, Coyote Alley, Bluestem Way, and the Barred Owl Trail. The group will stop often to discuss ecological features and historical land usage at different spots along the trail.

What to bring: Water, weather-appropriate clothing and footwear, and a way to take notes (i.e., a camera, smartphone, or journal)

What not to bring: Please, no dogs.