When the road to building a “green” house is paved with a little mud.
by Jen Pennington

When we purchased our property, I always knew I wanted to get it certified as a stewardship forest. I loved seeing those cool little green and brown signs along someone’s private drive. How do you get one of those things? I had heard about some elusive short course class but could never find it. Then one day I finally stumbled across it and signed up. When we realized the initial location of the class was going to be at the top of Whidbey Island, this would be a challenge. It can take two and a half to three hours to get to class when you live in Seattle.

But we were determined to do our part as stewards of the environment even if it meant driving for two months every Thursday night 100 miles to get there. The irony of knowing how much gas we would use to take the class is not lost on us. I was also amazed at the mass of paperwork you receive during class. It’s as if each student receives a full tree by the end of the term. That said, I still have every piece of literature in my bookcase.

When I first went to class my goal was to preserve all the trees on our land in any way shape or form. My mantra was “no wood leaves the property.” Cutting a tree down was something we would do only if we had to. I was determined to only use the firewood from naturally, downed trees. Little did I know the forestry class I would take would change that mindset entirely and make me feel like such a wuss.

In my altruistic ignorance (and I was not the only one), the class taught us how to manage our lots and make our forests healthier. We created plans and learned how to more accurately identify the health of the trees and plants on our lands. We learned how to selectively thin to allow others to grow stronger. I no longer have a sense of horror when we have to take down trees and each of us has our own set of his and her chainsaws. I can sincerely say, I am no longer a forest wuss.

Clearing the trees with a friend for our house site put everything we learned to the test. Twenty-two large Red Alders were felled and trimmed up along with a few hemlocks and some fir. Friends helped us chip the limbs and branches, and we hired a great guy to stack all our logs. We have since purchased a small portable sawmill and this year will finally mill the alder for trim wood and cabinetry for inside the house we are building.

Out of the class came more than just lessons on trees. We got a sense of empowerment that comes with getting to know our land so intimately. We participated as part of a community and made some wonderful new friends. The stewardship plan we developed has given us a great sense of accomplishment. That cool little green and brown sign…we got us one.
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We took our Forest Stewardship Coached Planning class through the extension at Washington State University.