1-19-2013 Winter Tree Identification

Jan 9, 2013 by Stephanie

Winter is a wonderful time to appreciate the landscape and trees of Glen Providence Park. With the leaves down, we have a clearer view of this steep valley’s topography, and the trees can show off their elegant form.  Winter is also a great time to learn to identify trees through their structure, bark, buds, branch patterns and other details– and we have just the person to teach us!

 

Winter Tree Identification

Saturday, January 19, 10:00-12:00 noon
Main entrance on State Street
Rain/snow date: Sunday, January 20, 2-4:00pm

John Wenderoth will teach us the basics of tree identification: from assessing the tree form at a distance, to examining winter twig characteristics up close.  We will start on the sledding hill, where the variety of common and unusual trees is more than sufficient to stimulate our curiosity. There are trees that long pre-date the park, and trees that were planted in its early years- Glen Providence Park was dedicated as a Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum, after all! Depending on how long we take on the sledding hill, we may continue on from there.

John has led tree walks at Tyler Arboretum, where he currently coordinates care of Tyler’s American Chestnut Orchard– which is how we met him!  John studied forestry at Penn State and Duke Universities.  We are fortunate that he’s been able to assist with our Tree Mapping of Glen Providence Park, and he helped us confirm the two American Chestnut trees we found still surviving in the park!

 

Logistics:

Free!
Estimated time: 2 hours
Be prepared for steep hills, and uneven (possibly wet) terrain: wear your hiking shoes, and bring a hiking pole if you use one… and of course binoculars!

To add this event to your favorite calendar program (iCal, Outlook, Google, etc.), view the event listing on our calendar.

The photo is of the White Oak on the Sledding Hill, taken in January 1950- this majestic tree is still there!  Posted with permission of the Media Historic Archives.