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Course

Sustainable Bark Harvest For Basketry

Course Overview

Heard of barking up the wrong tree? Well, the purpose of this class is debarking the tree right. Discover the wide range of northern forest tree barks suitable for basketry - from cedar barks to spruce barks, aspen barks to tamarack barks, maple barks to black ash barks…and of course, the signature northern tree species, paper birch. The relationship between the anatomy of each bark and how it is harvested opens the range of potential basketry projects. The course starts with a few hours indoors, but will primarily be spent in the woods getting to know tree bark and gaining harvesting experience. The ethics of bark harvest and how to acquire the proper permits for harvesting from public and private land will also be discussed. A lifetime siliviculturist, John shares the wide array of northern barks available to basketmakers.

Currently Scheduled Sessions