Reading Innisfree's Forested Landscape with Tom Wessels

Join renowned forest ecologist and author Tom Wessels for a fascinating interpretive hike through the wilder areas of Innisfree. Every forest contains clues to its past, and Tom is a master at teaching people how to recognize and interpret them. As we explore the wooded landscape, he will point out evidence that reveals how the land was used generations ago, including whether an area was once a hayfield, crop field, or pasture. Along the way, we will also examine remarkable plant adaptations and discover some of the intricate, coevolved relationships that connect forest species. This special hike offers a rare opportunity to explore the lesser-traveled areas of Innisfree with one of the country’s most engaging interpreters of forest history and ecology. This is a rain-or-shine event and involves a 1-mile hike with moderate elevation changes. $25 members, $35 non-members. Participation in this early morning walk is limited, and advance registration is required for pre-hours entry to the garden. More details will be emailed to registered attendees the week before the event. Tom Wessels is a terrestrial ecologist and professor emeritus at Antioch University, where he founded the master’s degree program in Conservation Biology. He is the author of numerous books on ecology, natural history, and sustainability, including the widely acclaimed Reading the Forested Landscape, Forest Forensics, and The Myth of Progress. For more than three decades, he has led workshops throughout the country, helping participants see familiar landscapes with entirely new eyes. Learn more at Thomas Wessels | Antioch University.