*Welcome Tomi Hazel Vaarde, author of Social Forestry

Tomi Hazel wrote:Hello Burra!

First off I would have a lot of questions. Southern Portugal? The mountains? An Eucalyptus plantation?

Can you post a picture? All the best in your endeavors, hazel.

Nancy Reading wrote:Hi Hazel,
Many thanks for joining us - Woodlands can be such special places. I hope you can inspire more awareness of how we can integrate into them. When I grow up I want to be a beech tree.

Anne Miller wrote:Welcome, Hazel

I am looking forward to lots of great questions this week and reading all the replies.

My woodland forest has been hit with a drought and we are now seeing the effects of the drought so my trees need help.

Chuck Zinda wrote:Welcome Tomi,
My family planted our woodland on 13 acres of fallow fields in 2014. Since then any visitor can tie a ribbon or hang a sign on any tree. We planted 8000 trees, so we are expecting many more visitors.

Steven Pinewood wrote:Hi Hazel, welcome to this great forum
Looks like a great book. Many positive, community based actions getting going here in the UK. This book would be a nice companion for the one I've just bought.''Mini-forest Revolution' about the work of Akira Miyawaki. We already have one (city-based) 'tiny forest' locally and another is being planned.

Edy Ki wrote:Hi Hazel and Woodland friends. Last year I was introduced to a concept called forest farming. I have a new friend who bought some rabbits from me. Whereas in traditional logging the idea is “take the best and leave the rest“ in forest farming it’s the opposite you’re going to leave the very high quality trees, possibly only thinning out the ones that need thinning because of sickness or positioning, but you will be taking down some of the junk trees and then inoculating them with a variety of mushrooms. The process of farming and harvesting the mushrooms supposedly takes about six years. Then as well, you grow herbs, various types such as golden seal, etc. This brings the value and yield off of an acre of forest, much higher without doing the same type of damage. You keep the wonderful, valuable older trees, and are doing carbon sequestration at the same time and so much more sustainable, as well as a much better business model, and better for the planet. One must be very cautious when bringing down trees, apparently it’s very dangerous so it’s not something to just fool around with, you need the skills. I really want to learn more about forest farming, and I’m hoping that your book will have something in it about this..

Cat Knight wrote:Hi Tomi, welcome to Permies :) I hope I get a chance to read your books soon. I'd love to hear about how you got to work with Starhawk or how she came to write the forward for you?

Marvin Warren wrote:Hi Hazel, greetings from (downstate) New York - great to see your book getting more attention! I miss getting to learn with you in person, and I'm glad to see you still teaching and honing your craft. I'm making a living, and saving the money our absurd society demands as a precondition to land stewardship,  as a designer and landscaper, thanks in no small part to you.

I already have a copy of the book, so I'm just chiming in to encourage anyone here who doesn't win a copy to go out and get one anyway, it's well worth the investment <3

Ben Zumeta wrote:Hello Hazel, I am so glad to see you on this forum. I am a friend of your son in-law Eric (at least I think I remember that was your relationship), and from him and many others have heard many great things. I also loved several of your recent podcast appearances, and look forward to reading your book. Thanks for your stewardship work for our bioregion!

Sam Haynes wrote:Hi Hazel,
The book looks amazing I'm based in the UK just completed my PDC this Summer and Will definitely be getting a copy of your book it looks amazing. The plan is to get our own permaculture based plot of land set up here after seeing Martin Crawfords forest garden it has just shifted my whole perspective and we are going to be aiming for this kind of approach. Really looking forward to your book and the Extra Inspiration it will definitely give me for this lifelong journey. Thanks

Tomi Hazel wrote:

I would advise getting all the carbon left on site down on the ground except for stable snags. Snags are really important to recovery. And I would caution against using machinery as compaction of soils on fresh burns is a real problem; compaction restricts topsoil recovery and forest regeneration. Here at the gulch I would lightly toast and sow grass seeds from Fescues, Bromes, Native Rye and other deep rooted native mycorrhizal perennial grasses to hold soil and build carbon capture again.

Dead trees that have to come down and fresh un-embedded logs can be laid just off contour and in ground contact to act as nurse logs that shelter seedlings and soils. This may be a chance to lay out permanent access trails that become future broadscale underburn fire breaks. These trails can be laid out on Keyline patterns and can be built to allow future woodlot tending. Roads can be put to bed becoming water capture and infiltration opportunities. I love wheel barrows and they only require well built trails.

Christopher Gewirtz wrote:

Tomi Hazel wrote:

I would advise getting all the carbon left on site down on the ground except for stable snags. Snags are really important to recovery. And I would caution against using machinery as compaction of soils on fresh burns is a real problem; compaction restricts topsoil recovery and forest regeneration. Here at the gulch I would lightly toast and sow grass seeds from Fescues, Bromes, Native Rye and other deep rooted native mycorrhizal perennial grasses to hold soil and build carbon capture again.

Dead trees that have to come down and fresh un-embedded logs can be laid just off contour and in ground contact to act as nurse logs that shelter seedlings and soils. This may be a chance to lay out permanent access trails that become future broadscale underburn fire breaks. These trails can be laid out on Keyline patterns and can be built to allow future woodlot tending. Roads can be put to bed becoming water capture and infiltration opportunities. I love wheel barrows and they only require well built trails.

This makes so much sense! I'll need to keep this in mind. Planning a burn on my own land to turn some less than savory multiflora rose into carbon.

John C Daley wrote:I have not got a copy of the book, I am in Australia.
We have an 18 inch rainfall and very poor soil, so I am wondering if your discussion and text will be relevant in this 'marginal' land by comparison to more congenial locations?