Why do some trees have smooth bark, while on others it peels, and on still others it is thick and broken? Can bark be used to identify winter trees?
These are the questions to be explored on Wednesday, March 13, at 7 p.m., when naturalist Wojtech will present “Know Your Trees,” a joint program offered by the Athol Bird & Nature Club and Northfield Mountain Recreation Center at Liberty Hall in Athol Town Hall (584 Main St.).
Wojtech’s newly released book, Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast, will be available for purchase.
The program will then go live with a field trip at Northfield Mountain on March 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This outing is for naturalists aged 12 and older and at all levels of experience; it is free for ABNC members, but there is a small fee for others. Pre-registration is required: 800-859-2960.
Wojtech is a freelance writer, teacher, illustrator, and photographer who spent his childhood roaming the pine barrens of southern New Jersey. After a 15-year career in business, he decided to pursue his love of natural history and writing. He earned his master’s degree in Conservation Biology from Antioch University New England, where he edited the journal Whole Terrain. His thesis at Antioch on tree bark became the basis for his book. He currently lives in the woods of western Massachusetts.
Athol Bird & Nature Club is an active group of people sharing an appreciation of nature’s many forms. The club manages the Millers River Environmental Center and maintains a natural history collection there, holds meetings featuring members or outside speakers, offers field trips all over southern New England, hosts intensive workshops and institutes on specific natural history topics, and organizes regional biological inventories, including biodiversity surveys, bird counts, and butterfly and dragonfly records.
More information about ABNC is available at atholbirdclub.org New members are welcome. More information about Northfield Mountain Recreation Center is at www.firstlightpower.com/northfield.