Trees for Good, the Putney Public Library, the Putney Conservation Committee and members of the Putney education, forestry, and art communities are partnering to host a Big Tree Quest in Putney, Vermont Sept. 15 – Nov. 1, 2022, inspired by a similar contest in Tunbridge in 2019.
Why a Big Tree Quest? To get us outside seeing the trees in our community, to honor the big trees that play such an important role in the forest ecosystem, in climate change mitigation, in the nurturing of young trees, and in the storage of carbon. And maybe even to put a Putney tree on the Vermont Big Tree list!
What do you do for a Big Tree Quest? You head out and search for the largest tree you can find of the many species in Putney. If biggest isn’t your thing, how about searching for Best Tree Pose, Best Tree Face, Tree Superhost, or submitting your TreeTrek story (the longest or most interesting single-day human-powered tree discovery expedition). There’s also a category for Tree Art!
Submit online at https://form.jotform.com/222408380354048. Find submission forms on the Putney Library website http://putneylibrary.org/events-and-classes/putney-big-tree-quest/. Or just go out find a big tree, measure the circumference at 4.5 feet off the ground, and submit circumference, tree species, tree location, your name, email and phone #, and, if possible, a photo of the tree to putneybigtree@gmail.com.
At the Sept.12 Kickoff event, local forester Andrew Morrison will demonstrate tree measuring technique, Michael Clough will visit with live forest animals from the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum, Ines Zeller Bass from Sandglass Theater will introduce a tree spirit art-making workshop for those aged 10 and up to be held on Sept. 24, 2-4 at Sandglass Theater, and Putney School faculty member Dawn Zwieg will offer hands-on fun ecology activities. Tree-themed treats will be available. Activities are appropriate for all ages.
Contest judges are forester Andrew Morrison and Putney Public Library Youth Services Librarian Julia von Ransom, in collaboration with students from The Putney School and Putney Central School. These distinguished community members will head out into backyards and sugar bushes after November 1 to confirm the entries. Interested parties are invited to accompany the judges on these measurement visits. Prizes–items made with or inspired by local tree species–will be awarded at the Putney Big Tree Quest Wrap-up on November 15, from 6-7 pm at the Putney Public Library.
Find more information about Putney Big Tree Quest events–tree identification walks, exploring our relationship with trees through art, and more–on the Putney Public Library website (www.putneylibrary.org), or contact Evie Lovett and Paul Levasseur at putneybigtree@gmail.com.