Monday, September 08, 2008

9/08/08 A WONDERFUL VISITOR CENTER AND A GREAT TREE SYMPOSIUM



Monday, 7:30 AM. 41 degrees, wind W, moderate with gusts. Te channel is crawling and the sky mottled blue with high gray clouds. The barometer is up and a strong high pressure system is coming in.
Today is the tree symposium at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center west of Ashland on Hwy. 2. This is a wonderful tourist information facility with interactive displays an movies on local history, and is a must-see for visitors to our region. It has a unique gift shop as well.
Later: the program was absolutely great, even for an old pro like myself. It concentrated on the common mistakes made in planting and selecting trees, the bottom line being that most trees fail because they do not match their planting environment (ecological error) or that they are planted too deep (not as easy to determine as one might suppose). It was very hands on, with a good balance of lecture and hands on. I saw no one nod off, which is a feat in itself.
The photos are of the facility, with two tree board members at the entrance, and some of the lecture and demonstration activity.
Tomorrow I must accompany Joan to Duluth for an eye doctor appointment.