Blog Posts

  • Cultural and technical features of chestnut production in Türkiye

    Introduction Our reason for crossing the Bosphorous was to see how the Turkish people grow tree crops, particularly chestnuts. The trip was partially inspired by this article. People in Anatolia have been tending chestnuts far longer time than the current iteration of chestnut farming in the US. Similar to our trips to Italy, Kazakhstan and…

  • QGIS and Avenza: a how-to guide for making maps

    tl;dr: if you find yourself in the position of wanting to teach yourself to make and use maps, I invite you to check out my DIY guide: “QGIS and Avenza: using free mapping software for land management planning“. If you want to contribute to the document’s further development, I am happy to include you as…

  • So you want to get your Red Card

    Working at Woodcock Nature Preserve, I have been teaching about prescribed fire since 2019. One question comes up every year: “How can I get my Red Card?” I have my Red Card and can answer from my experience. But what is a Red Card, and what’s it have to do with Rx fire in Ohio?…

  • Agroforester’s Tree and Log Measuring Stick with Cruising Prism

    I have a tool to share. It is used in a similar way as the classic forestry tools known as the Biltmore stick and the cruising prism. But it is used for different purposes. My adaptations are designed with other agroforesters in mind, as well as consulting forestry clients managing their private non-industrial forest. These…

  • Defending (some of) Ohio’s Beech Trees

    Author Note: this article will be updated with new information as it comes in. My mom sent me this cool article about pollarded beech trees in Romania. Romanian beech is Fagus sylvatica, rather than the Fagus grandifolia that grows around Athens County. People in Romania use pollarded beech roundwood as a building material. Ohio settlers…