It’s easy to take trees for granted if you see them every day, but our region still holds some trees that have lived for two or more centuries. On Saturday, July 13 from 10 am to 1 pm, come visit some of these impressive large older trees on Mount Tom. Old-growth forest expert and educator, Bob Leverett, will be our guide. Though Mount Tom does not have large enough ecologically intact tracts that can qualify as bona fide old growth (except possibly on a swath of the escarpment), its forest treasures are well worth visiting.

You’ll learn about these mature trees on the Mount Tom state reservation and what they contribute ecologically, historically, culturally, aesthetically, and even from a human health perspective. We’ll talk about how to identify individual tree species growing along the trail, and Bob will show you several superlative trees, including a white pine that’s more than 140 feet tall. He’ll also discuss how he measures trees for championship competitions, and what we know about the ages of Mount Tom’s trees. And, we’ll talk about where the woodlands of Mount Tom fit in with carbon sequestration and the impact of climate change.

This program is free, but is limited to 25 participants. Registration is required, below.

Bob Leverett is the co-founder of the Native Tree Society, the co-founder and president of Friends of Mohawk Trail State Forest, Chair of DCR’s Forest Reserve Scientific Advisory Committee, co-founder of American Forests National Cadre of expert tree-measurers, and principal organizer of the Ancient Eastern Forests Conference Series. In collaboration with his colleagues, he is most closely associated with discovery and confirmation the old-growth forest remnants in Massachusetts. Bob is a special advisor to the American Forests National Champion Tree Program and co-author of its tree-measuring guidelines. He is also coauthor of the Sierra Club Guide to the Ancient Forests of the Northeast along with several other books.