OneTree
This summer Week in the Woods will team up with UAF’s Forest Products Program to launch a new community outreach and research project, OneTree, a collaborative project exploring art and science through a connection to a single tree.
OneTree is based on a project by the same name that got its start in 1998, when a single large oak was felled in the National Trust estate of Tatton Park in Cheshire, England. That project aimed to show the unique value of woodlands by demonstrating the volume and quality of work that can be made from one tree. The resulting book, OneTree, has inspired several other efforts.
One project of particular interest was carried out in 2006-007 by North
House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Twenty artisans who teach at
the school documented their journey of hands-on discovery in Celebrating
Birch: The Lore, Art, and Craft of an Ancient Tree. Two of the book’s
contributors, John Zasada and Charlie Mayo, will be in Fairbanks this summer,
participating both in Week in the Woods and UAF Summer Sessions, where they’ll
teach a birchbark weaving class July 10-12.
By focusing on a common goal—full utilization of a single tree—OneTree
hopes to unleash the breadth of creativity in its participants. Regardless
of your age or experience in the woods, OneTree wants you. To learn more
about the project and how to get involved, visit the UAF
School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences blog.