Walk-about Wednesday

Six ways trees are important

My father loved wood. He taught industrial arts at our local high school, spent his weekends in his woodshop in the garage, and carved beautiful birds and animals in the evenings.

I learned to love the smell of wood, the beauty of different wood grains and colors, and the textural beauty of finished wood. I learned that wood has different strengths -some can be carved, some can be bent, and some can withstand unbelievable amounts of pressure. Some wood is hard to pound a nail into and some wood will split as soon as the nail is hit.

Today, decades later, the smell of sawdust transports me back in time. I am opening the garage door to get my dad for dinner. He is standing at his table saw, surrounded by wood of all different sizes and types, his blue overalls covered with sawdust that also swirls in the air around him. The garage smells moist, warm and comforting.

As an adult, I love trees, nature and making things by hand because of those days spent with my father.

Trees are important to all of us because:

• Trees are responsible for maintaining Earth’s atmosphere-more about this in next week’s Walk-about
• Humans use the wood from trees for many important things such as fire, to build shelter, to make furniture, tools, and weapons, to build transportation vehicles

• Writing and making music began with objects made from wood
• We plant trees for many reasons-as a windbreak to protect areas from weather, to provide shade, and to honor those we love
• We remember the trees in places we lived or visited.
• Trees line the streets of our communities and make them feel welcoming and comfortable. Communities that have been around for a long time have larger, older trees. Newer communities have younger trees. Each of these creates a different feel for the people that live there.
• Wood is a sensory feast for us. We love the beauty of different grains and colors, the variety of smells and the range of textures.

What do you like about trees? Do you like objects made from wood? Why?

Peace,

Nature Mamaw