Events

Conferences and Events of Interest

These noteworthy conferences, workshops, meetings, lectures, projects, calls for papers, and collaborations underway are provided for informational purposes only; please follow the appropriate links or contact the organizers for further details.

If you know of similar relevant events or projects, please email Andrea Anderson.

Forest History Society Events

June 12, 2023
1-2 pm ET

Register HERE

 

Becoming “Treewise and Sequoical”: John Muir and the Giant Sequoia

Naturalist John Muir had just turned thirty when he first arrived in California in 1868. He came for many reasons, but certainly as a botanist, he wanted to see the Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada. Throughout the rest of his life, Muir’s focus on the Big Tree changed and those changes matched his pursuits in life. At first, he reveled among the groves like the young man that broke away from the factories to “study the inventions of God.” Then he studied the trees scientifically as he had studied the glaciers of the Sierra. Lastly, he worked tirelessly to preserve them as he helped to establish national parks and tried to prevent the flooding of Hetch Hetchy Valley.

Mike Wurtz is Head of the University of the Pacific Libraries’ Holt-Atherton Special Collections and Archives—home of the largest collection of John Muir material in the world. An archivist and historian by trade, he has a background in studying how geography and history intertwine and have an influence on one another. He is also the author of John Muir’s Grand Yosemite: Musings and Sketches, which geolocates 25 sites in Yosemite from which Muir made his drawings.

June 14, 2023
1-2 pm ETRegister HERE
"Lucette!" – Transforming Paul Bunyan from Indiscriminate Logger to Caring Forester

The Paul Bunyan myth has been woven through the history of US and Canadian forests, supporting a pride in unlimited logging. Marybeth Lorbiecki, having written a biographies of Aldo Leopold (one for adults and one for children), decided that North America needed a fresh cultural story that integrates a Leopoldian and Native American–influenced ethic. So, in 2007, Lorbiecki created the picture book Paul Bunyan’s Sweetheart, which puts a new twist on the tale of Paul’s courtship of Lucette Diana Kensack. To win her hand, Paul must reform his ways.

Then Lorbiecki decided to transform this story into a new musical: “Lucette! A Lively Tale of Lumberjacks, Trees & Paul Bunyan.” She integrated a strong female lead and friends, immigrants, and wildlife to better reflect the Northwood’s real history. This dynamic new musical with an environmental message and catchy original tunes will debut next summer.

Join us for a discussion about the message, the musical, and how we talk about the land by using well-known figures both real and mythical in general.

Marybeth Lorbiecki is the author of the award-winning biography A Fierce Green Fire: Aldo Leopold’s Life and Legacy. She is an adjunct writing and literature professor at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls and author of adult nonfiction and children’s books.

Other Events of Interest

June 9-10, 2023 Association of Consulting Foresters annual convention
Location: Eugene, OR
July 22-29, 2023 Society of American Archivists annual conference
Location: Washington, DC
August 22-26, 2023 European Society for Environmental History biennial conference
Location: Bern, Switzerland
Sept. 6-9, 2023 Land Trust Alliance Rally annual conference
Location: Portland, OR
Oct. 25-29, 2023 Society of American Foresters annual convention
Location: Sacramento, CA
June 23-29, 2024 XXVI IUFRO World Congress 2024
World Congress held by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations. Congress theme: Forests and Society Towards 2050.
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
August 1-4, 2024 Society of American Archivists annual conference
Location: Chicago, IL