Bark: Get to Know Your Trees

The traits typically used to describe trees—leaves, twigs, and buds—are often hard to see or seasonally absent. Join Michael Wojtech for an exploration of bark, which is always visible, in any season. As you hone your perceptive abilities you will learn about a system for identifying tree species by their bark, and discover why such a variety of bark characteristics exist. Why do some species have smooth bark, while on others it is thick and broken? Why does bark peel?

Join us online via Zoom to learn to identify trees by their bark. Check back to sign up for the Zoom link.

Michael left a 15-year business career to pursue his love of natural history and writing, and earned his Master’s in Conservation Biology from Antioch University New England. His thesis, on tree bark, became the basis for his field guide, Bark. Though the book’s plant ID section covers trees of the Northeast, much of the material inside speaks to the characteristics and function of bark anywhere–so it’s fascinating wherever you live.