We are Tree Hunters

[edfrank]

Ed,

  Well said. It is important that we periodically revisit the reasons we hunt and measure trees, both for ourselves and for others to better understand the appeal of the occupation. We hunt trees all the time, so the reasons are a given for ourselves, but not to the public at large. The better we can articulate our reasons and describe our craft, the more we will attract others. Good job.

Bob

We like big trees because they turn us on- but most people don't get it- which is why the scientific approach to measuring and evaluating big trees is extremely important and will help the rest of the world to understand why big trees and old forests are valuable- not just because of aesthetics but for many reasons- especially to let us better understand the full potential of nature- the nature that has created us. I find it crazy to go to church and not understand nature. Churches to me are fantasies- nature is real- very real- wonderful in many ways but also it has pain and suffering and death- and that is The Way.
Joe

[James Parton]

Ed,

  Well said. It is important that we periodically revisit the reasons we hunt and measure trees, both for ourselves and for others to better understand the appeal of the occupation. We hunt trees all the time, so the reasons are a given for ourselves, but not to the public at large. The better we can articulate our reasons and describe our craft, the more we will attract others. Good job.

Bob

We like big trees because they turn us on- but most people don't get it- which is why the scientific approach to measuring and evaluating big trees is extremely important and will help the rest of the world to understand why big trees and old forests are valuable- not just because of aesthetics but for many reasons- especially to let us better understand the full potential of nature- the nature that has created us. I find it crazy to go to church and not understand nature. Churches to me are fantasies- nature is real- very real- wonderful in many ways but also it has pain and suffering and death- and that is The Way.
Joe

Joe,

You hit the nail on the head!  That is the very reason I chose to follow a path of druidry. Most churches and indeed Christianity itself teach little on the natural world. Druidism focuses highly on nature and its value and also teaches that humans are of nature, not separate from it. Druidry picks up where my Christianity leaves off.

[edfrank]

Joe, James, Steve,

I appreciate your recent comments and on this issue and find them very much on point:

Joe Zorzin wrote:

We like big trees because they turn us on- but most people don't get it- which is why the scientific approach to measuring and evaluating big trees is extremely important and will help the rest of the world to understand why big trees and old forests are valuable- not just because of aesthetics but for many reasons- especially to let us better understand the full potential of nature- the nature that has created us.

James Parton wrote:

I hunt trees to get to know new ones and introduce them to the world. They do not have to be huge or old to be special to me. Of course, if so, that is nice too. It is so great to enter a forest and document trees, either by measuring or photography ( usually both ) and know that I may be the only one who has ever done that in the woods I am visiting. I find pride in that. It is a service to the trees that we do for them. Get them known and promote their preservation. It is a great pride we should all share.

Steve Galehouse wrote:

I sometimes think people, including myself, need to have some sort of "purpose" to go for a hike off-trail in a woods, and tree hunting is my purpose, but experiencing the woods is real attraction. In a similar manner, I portage to and canoe lakes up North with the "purpose" of fishing, but hiking the trails and paddling a remote lake are the real attractions---catching fish, or finding big trees, is just icing on the cake.

These ideas should be incorporated into the next version of the essay on being tree hunters - perhaps as individual asides or quotes within the text.  I would like to revise the index page of the website and the introduction to ENTS here on the BBS to better reflect these motivations to get out into the woods and hunt trees, rather than jumping right into hard core measurement.  Perhaps structured as a series of interlinked pages that provide an introduction to our group rather than just a jumping off point for other sections of the website.  The jumping off links can be n the side panel, or withing these intro pages.  

The website was initially designed to be an archive of the posts being made to Topica, then Google Groups.  Then some themes were added and sorting of subjects.  I think the overall structure is fine, but we need a better start introducing the ENTS group.  The last revision makes the website look much slicker and more professional, but I still have a ways to go to get what I want.  If any of you have specific examples from other websites, or ideas, feel free to suggest them to me.

Ed

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[edfrank]

ENTS,

I am trying to come up with a new mission statement (unofficially) that both expresses our passion for hunting trees and also focuses on the measurement and documentation mission.  This is just playing around with words at this point.  So I want to encourage all of you to take a shot at it also and post your ideas here.  The existing mission statement or vision reads as follows:

The Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS) is a cyberspace interest group devoted to the documentation and celebration of trees and forests of the eastern North America and around the world, through art, poetry, music, mythology, science, medicine, wood crafts, and collecting research data for a variety of purposes. ENTS is the premiere tree measuring group of the eastern forest. ENTS is a discussion forum for people who view trees and forests not just as a crop to be harvested, but also as something of value in their own right.   Membership is open to anyone with an interest in trees living anywhere in the world.

My first rough cut trying to incorporate the tree hunter idea is as follows:

The Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS) is a cyberspace based organization of Tree Hunters. Our core focus and passion is to find and document exceptional trees and forests wherever they might exist. We have developed new techniques to accurately measure and to better describe and document these exceptional trees and forests and are constantly working to improve these methodologies. We also recognize and celebrate the complex artistic, emotional, psychological, and spiritual relationships that have long existed between humanity and the forest and these more elusive aspects are being explored by our membership as well.

(This last is more of a closing invitation rather than part of the basic statement itself)

ENTS is a discussion forum for people who view trees and forests not just as a crop to be harvested, but also as something of value in their own right.  Even today we are finding the largest and oldest trees ever recorded for some native species.  we are finding hidden pockets of old growth forest and examples of unusual forest ecosystems. If you want to become part of this adventure, membership is open to anyone with an interest in trees living anywhere in the world.

This is too long and wordy, but it might serve as a jumping off point for something better.  lets play with this idea.

Ed

[James Parton]

Ed,

I like the idea and measuring should be first in the statement, but we cannot forget, not everybody interested in trees who may come here will be interested in measurement. The original statement allows for this. There should be something " treeish " here for everybody and it should be allowed for in the mission statement.

[Joe]

Ed,

I like the idea and measuring should be first in the statement, but we cannot forget, not everybody interested in trees who may come here will be interested in measurement. The original statement allows for this. There should be something " treeish " here for everybody and it should be allowed for in the mission statement.

a place for tree huggers- with the world's ultimate tree hugger, Bob Leverett!
Joe

[edfrank]

James,

You have a point.  This is a revised statement that incorporates some of the phrasing from the original mission statement.

The Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS) is a cyberspace based organization of Tree Hunters. Our core passion is to find and document exceptional trees and forests wherever they might exist. We have developed new techniques to accurately measure and to better describe these exceptional trees and forests and are constantly working to improve these methodologies. In addition the complex artistic, emotional, psychological, and spiritual relationships between humanity and the forest are also being explored and celebrated by our membership through art, poetry, history, music, mythology, science, medicine, and wood crafts.

ENTS provides a discussion forum for people who view trees and forests not just as a crop to be harvested, but also as something of value in their own right. Even today we are finding the largest and oldest trees ever recorded for some native species. we are finding hidden pockets of old growth forest and examples of unusual forest ecosystems. If you want to become part of this adventure, membership is open to anyone with an interest in trees living anywhere in the world.  Simply create a free account on our BBS discussion board at http://www.ents-bbs.org and jump into the discussions.

Ed Frank

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[dbhguru]

Ed, Steve, James, Larry, Joe, et al.,

  This is getting better an better. One small change I'd suggest in the second paragraph is to change "ENTS is a forum for" to "ENTS provides a forum for". The change suggests that ENTS goes beyond being an Internet forum. Back to the math.

Bob

[James Parton]

James,

You have a point.  This is a revised statement that incorporates some of the phrasing from the original mission statement.

The Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS) is a cyberspace based organization of Tree Hunters. Our core passion is to find and document exceptional trees and forests wherever they might exist. We have developed new techniques to accurately measure and to better describe these exceptional trees and forests and are constantly working to improve these methodologies. In addition the complex artistic, emotional, psychological, and spiritual relationships between humanity and the forest are also being explored and celebrated by our membership through art, poetry, history, music, mythology, science, medicine, and wood crafts.

ENTS provides a discussion forum for people who view trees and forests not just as a crop to be harvested, but also as something of value in their own right. Even today we are finding the largest and oldest trees ever recorded for some native species. we are finding hidden pockets of old growth forest and examples of unusual forest ecosystems. If you want to become part of this adventure, membership is open to anyone with an interest in trees living anywhere in the world.  Simply create a free account on our BBS discussion board at http://www.ents-bbs.org and jump into the discussions.

Ed Frank

.

Ed,

I really like this.  Much better!

[Bart Bouricius]

James,

I concur with your sentiments about preserving exceptional forests.  Possibly something about we "encourage the preservation of exceptional old growth forests, or forest remnants? Something about encouraging preservation at any rate.