EXAMPLE PAGE - SCHOOL BROCHURE - UNBOUNCE - Purdue University - Flipbook - Page 34
In contrast to the HTIRC plantings, the biomass
site is an area left to develop naturally. It was harvested and cleared in September 2012. Identifying trees for harvest serves multiple purposes.
In addition to earning money for the department
through timber production, it also showcases
the effects of proper forest management.
The first spring following the harvest, Carlson
recalls the entire cleared site was covered with
trillium. By the end of the year, hundreds of thousands of trees were naturally established. Today,
the biomass site’s natural forest regeneration
boasts more than 20,000 trees to the acre.
“That’s the amazing thing about forests,” Carlson says. “We can look at a dense forest and
think it’s always been here just like we see it now,
but that’s not the case. Forests are dynamic.
They change and grow. When we harvest trees,
we’re trying to mimic natural disturbance in a lot
of ways. Proper forest management helps rejuvenate the woods.”
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Extension education is a major component of
the mission of Purdue’s agricultural centers. Private landowners learn how to manage their own
woodlands, restore wildlife habitats, and cultivate various species. Schoolchildren learn the
role of a forester and that cutting down a tree is
not the worst possible thing.
“Almost without exception, the vast majority of students will initially tell me that cutting
down a tree is absolutely wrong,” Carlson says.
“My reply is, ‘If we don’t cut down any trees,
what are some of the things you’d have to give
up?’ Then we name some of the different products. I want them to understand that it’s possible to cut down some trees to provide the things
we need but still keep the forest going to be
healthy and productive. That’s what a forester
does. A forester helps us to be able to enjoy the
things we need from a forest while making sure
that the forest is able to be sustainable well into
the future.”
