Trees and Humans:
Ecology, Art, and Culture

Coordinated Studies
Sophomore through senior level
Nalini Nadkarni & Joe Tougas
48 Students
Winter Quarter 2003


"Trees are Earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven."

--Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet

The premise of this program is that the stories and fortunes of trees and humans are as intricately linked as the complex branching systems that link tree root to tree crown. The products derived from trees that are used by humans are diverse, ranging from such functional objects as paper and lumber and boats to aesthetic objects such as sculpture and jewelry to spiritual objects such as masks and amulets. Trees create sacred places in many communities and cultures. Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest used their wood, bark, roots, and foliage to create objects needed for nearly all aspects of their lives. They also mitigate negative impacts of concentrated human dwellings, and the growing field of urban forestry is documenting the physical benefits of having trees in urban areas. We will explore the connections between trees and humans in many cultures and time periods, drawing upon our own experiences on campus and in the Pacific Northwest region.

We will first study the features of trees - their ecology, physiology, and anatomy - with the intent to better understand their connection with humans. Students will do technical readings and participate in weekly seminars. Readings will include texts such as Hilary Stewart's text, Cedar, Pauline Capoeman's Land of the Quinault, and Ruth Kirk's The Olympic Rainforest, as well as fictional treatments about trees and forestry: Italo Calvino's The Baron in the Trees, Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion, and Conrad Richter's The Forest. They will be asked to respond to our search for understanding trees and their uses by writing critical essays and creative pieces.

We will present students with a variety of experiences designed to highlight the multiplicity of ways in which trees can be used. Such exercises will include the making of one functional object and one aesthetic/spiritual object out of materials derived from trees in the Evergreen Wood Shop We will take field trips to studios of wood sculptors. We will do an inventory and economic analysis of objects that come from trees in various stores and markets in different cultures. A wood anatomist will guide us in a lab to make thin sections of a variety of native woods in order to better understand the microscopic components of wood that make different species distinctive in their look and use. Each of these experiences will constitute the kernel of a written essay that will be exchanged amongst seminar groups and discussed.

We anticipate one extended field trip to the Olympic Peninsula to view wooden art and functional objects created by the Makah Indians. We will also hike in the old-growth forests in the Hoh Valley to witness the environment that fosters some of the largest and longest-lived trees in North America. We will visit an industrial lumber mill to witness the methods by which trees are transformed to lumber, shakes, and other commercially valued products. During the field trip, we will do "homestays" in Forks, Washington, with families that are supported by the timber industry to get their views of the uses of wood. Students will integrate these diverse experiences in a personal journal/essay.

Students will also work in small groups to carry out an in-depth study of a single tree on campus. This may take the form of an ecological, physiological, or artistic study of the tree. Group projects will be presented as a formal written paper. We will also require students to find expression in some aspect of the creative arts - drawing, painting, carving, photography, dance, or music.

Credit awarded in forest ecology, tree physiology, art, writing, and Native American studies.

Total: 16 credits upper and lower division credits.

Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in the liberal arts, arts, natural science, writing, anthropology, and Native American studies.