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Tree name tags

Started by Larry, June 22, 2007, 12:16:25 PM

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Larry

We have an old logging road and hiking trail that crosses several different properties.  We have talked about putting some kind of tag on one tree of every species we can find.  Needs to be attractive...we are thinking of maybe brass or aluminum.  Is there any place that sells tree name tags?  Any ideas or suggestions appreciated.

Yea, I know...I'm not the best at tree identification...but I know where to get expert help. :)
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Dan_Shade

brass will tarnash pretty heavily.

how about a stainless engraving?
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Phorester


Both Forestry Suppliers and Ben Meadows sells metal ID tags.   Last price I saw from Forestry Suppliers was a box of 500 aluminum ones for about $20.

I have also tagged trees for people with regular surveyor flagging, writing the tree name on it with a pen and then wrapping it around the trunk or tieing it to a limb.  Good for a temporary tag.

Dodgy Loner

I like the idea, Larry...but surely an experienced sawyer like yourself is not considering nailing a bunch of metal tags to his trees :o ;).  Have you considered a placard in front of the trees?
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

WDH

I made about 35 tree nameplates for a FFA mature trail.  The namplates were made out of 3/4 treated plywood.  I used a router to rout the name of the tree.  Then, I added a cypress border all the way around the 4 edges of the plywood.  Planted the border forest green.  They turned out handsome.  They were installed using two pieces of electrical conduit.  The conduit was driven into the ground with a hammer.  Two holes were drilled into each piece of conduit so that the nameplate could be attached.  The nameplates are about 12" high and 20" long, so they are very easy to see and can be read from a good distance away.  

Unfortunately (here comes the bad part), the High School decided to trash the nature trial to build a new softball field shortly after we had installed all the nameplates.  I got a phone call saying that there were bulldozers pushing down the nature trail, so I rushed over and took all the tree nameplates before they were destroyed.  I still have them.

I will post a pic when I get home.  So, they are not tags, they are like little tree billboards ;D.

I just saw Dodgy's post.  This is the Placard concept.

Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Tom

I can see how the Future Farmers might be enthralled with building a baseball field after the history lesson taught by the movie. "Field of Dreams".  "You build it and they will come", is the lesson taught and every young farmer should take note that the superficial... I mean supernatural, is way more important than the knowledge gained from a bunch of trees or the feelings of a full stomach from a field of corn.  What with the little bit of entertainment available today and the need to approach success with super stardom in a sports arena, I'm amazed that there is even an organization of FFA youth available to have devised such a plan involving a Nature Trail.  Perhaps a Mature trail is apropos in that it would have taken some maturity to finish and maintain a project entailing forestry.

Glad you were able to save the signs. 

I wonder....   How many of the young fellows  and the do-good fathers, many of whom probably consider themselves environmentalists or conservationists, realize that they took part in a real example of deforestation when the clear-cut they complain about is just a Forestry tool used toward another generation of forest?

There I go curmudgeoning again....  never mind.  ::)

thurlow

When you and I'se in school, FFA stood for Future Farmers of America; had to "take" vocational agriculture to belong to the club.  One of the first things we had to do was to learn the Creed, "I believe in the future of farming, with a faith born not of words, but of deeds;  achievements won by the present and past generation of farmers, and in the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy.....................etc".  Now-a-days, at least locally, FFA doesn't actually stand for anything (just a group of letters) and there's no such thing as vocational agriculture.  Have forgotten the name of the current course........something like Ag Mechanics.  Considered a crip course, like Chorus usta be.
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

Dodgy Loner

I'm sorry to hear about the demise of the FFA in your area, thurlow, but you should know that where I went to high school, the FFA program is still alive and well.  I still vividly remember learning the creed that you quote, and in fact, the very reason that I am a forester today is because I competed in FFA forestry field days for 4 years in high school and fell in love with it.  My high school ag teacher was one of the best teachers in the county.  He won the STAR teacher award 3 out of 5 years when I was in high school, and he is still teaching today.  My high school still offers 5 ag classes: forestry, horticulture, animal science, ag leadership, and ag mechanics.  I was happy to have taken 4 of them.  I know that the FFA program in WDH's area is quite healthy also, probably due to an equally motivated instructor.  One can never downplay the impact that a good teacher can have on the lives of hundreds of young adults, and one of the greatest misfortunes one can have is to miss out on one of those teachers.
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

WDH

Tom,

It was sad to see the nature trail destroyed for a softball field.  That plot of ground had been the place the FFA kids practiced for the Forestry Field Day Competitions.  I got real ill and had a terse conversation with the Board of Education immediately after hearing of the decision to destroy the trail.  I tried to get them to stop, but to no avail.  My conversation with the decision maker was intense.
smiley_argue01.

The FFA program here is very strong.  We named the nature trail in honor of the AG Instructor.  That sign is now hanging over the door to my wood shop to honor his dedication.  You will see it in one of the pics of the signs.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

WDH

OK Larry.  Here are the pics of the tree signs that I promised I would post.

The first one hung over an entranceway to the nature trail, named in honor the the AG Instructor that was so dedicated to the FFA.  Since the trail was destroyed in the name of progress, the signs now hangs over my wood shop door.


My remembrance of the actual signs was not as good as I had thought.  They do not have the green painted border like the previous sign, and the edging around the plywood is not cypress, it is treated pine ::).  I propped these up next to a tree on a board to take the photos.

By the way, that is not a scarlet oak in the picture.  It is a southern Red oak ::) ::) ::)



Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Tom

Do you have enough variability on your place to have a Nature Trail?  You could could move the sign to your place and invite the FFA to a day in the woods on the Claxton Trail.  You could even declare the land dedicated to it as being Forester Dan Park.  That could be fun.  ;D

WDH

Now that you caused me to think about it, I have most all of the same species on my own property.  Hmmm.............
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Tom

You also have the capability of makin home-grown benches and bridges.  I'll bet they would even enjoy seeing a sawmill work and learn about he grains of wood as well as the leaves on the trees.  :)

SwampDonkey

That is a great idea, BUT you have to be in an area where the local hoodlums won't destroy the signs.  ::) Those signs do look great though. Make sure the quill dogs are out of range to.  They love to sharpen their teeth on plywood, treated or not. :D

But all kidding aside. The local marketing board used to put on field trips for the younger kids, grades 5-9 I think. For some reason they don't seem to take the time any longer. I'm not sure even if Ag. courses are even still offered in high school. I think there are still coops where high school kids work 2 or 3 hours a couple days a week at a business, which could be at the marketing board. Seems to me I saw a young feller last year there.

We've tagged trees with aluminum, but were on chewing gum shaped tags. We only wrote numbers on them inside permanent sample plots. I know they would be too small for your purpose. Maybe you could get something like a pauper's grave marker where the inscription in encased in an aluminum frame with a glass face. I see those on some trails. Critter proof to.


Something like the ones near the bottom half of this page
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

WDH

No quill dogs around here.  Just coons :D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

SwampDonkey

"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Larry

WDH, those are quite attractive signs.  I showed the picture to a neighbor and he thought the same.  We have a couple of trees off the trail some distance, and that size should make them easier to spot.

Thanks for the ideas guys.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Phorester

TOM, FFA is still going strong in the 5 middle schools and 5 high schools in my area.  But they are on the decline in VA in general.  Across the mountain in Loudoun County, one of the fasted growing counties in the nation, the last remaining FFA teacher still has a strong program.  But he's older than me, and when he retires in the next couple years, I expect the FFA program will "retire" with him. 

Another blow to the environmental-type cirriculums here..., last year the horticultural dept. at our local community college was closed.  There was a strong hort. professor there for over 20 years.  She had developed a great greenhouse class, great landscaping class using the campus as her laboratory.  Her department had become an asset to the commercial orchardists here, who have several thousand acres of orchards. She left for another job, the college sold the greenhouses, closed the department.  A couple local retail nurseries had routinely hired several of her graduates every year. A good starter position for recent graduates to learn the real-world side of horticulture.  They were pretty upset at the college.

Back to the subject, FFA is still stong in my community.

Dodgy Loner

I like your idea Tom, I bet the forestry class at Perry High would love to see WDH's sawmill in action.  Actually, I bet there are a lot of forestry classes throughout the nation that would enjoy that sort of thing.  I still remember the first time I saw a sawmill - I went to WDH's to help him saw some walnut lumber, and I got hooked...a few months later I was over there with two big cherry trees and a red maple from our property ;D :D
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

WDH

I see that I have been a bad good influence on Dodgy Loner ;D
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

caveman

I stumbled across this post while searching FFA forestry field day.  The trail with the tree id's was something I also tried to start at my school.  We had planted about 40 of the 50 species of trees that could show up on the dendrology part of the state forestry contest.  As construction of the new buildings on campus or the installation of portable classrooms all but three of the trees we planted were removed. 

Also, the front of the high school had about 75 longleaf pines growing in the area between the cafeteria and the street.  The students made copper tags for some of these trees and they would record the date, diameter and logs of each yearly.  These trees were used for the forestry team and the classes to practice timber cruising, looking for bug specimens, and increment boring. All of these trees were pushed up, cut up and put in dump trucks in order to make a parking lot.

Timber cruising practice now requires a lot more effort.  We have to go off site.  The students just returned home from competing in the state Forestry Contest yesterday which was held in Perry, Florida.  They were fortunate enough to come away with a first place finish overall and will compete at the national level next October in Kentucky.  The team finished 2nd in dendrology (3 of 4 missed spruce pine and called it sand pine), 2nd in timber estimation, 1st in general knowledge, map interpretation, equipment i.d., and forest disorders.  The Florida Forest Service hosted the contest and did a really good job with it.

I will certainly be asking for some help getting them prepared over the next 11 months.  The FFA programs in Florida are still pretty strong with over 16,000 student members. 
Caveman

beenthere

Are you an Ag instructor in a High School?
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

caveman

Yes, we (two others and myself) teach a forestry class, horticulture class, a couple of animal science classes, ag communications, ag mechanics, aquaculture and the introductory class which is called ag foundations.

In addition to the classes, we have a green house, nursery, citrus grove, hog barn for market hogs, aquaculture room, 45 or so rabbits, about that many show chickens, a few cattle and a pretty nice wood and metal shop.  We have not gotten around to putting in a winter garden yet this year.

Caveman
Caveman

WDH

caveman,

I applaud you. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

RynSmith


beenthere

Rewarding working with HS students, and sounds like they get some trips for the competition. Lays a good groundwork for their future.

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

SwampDonkey

I worked with a fella from Manitoba when I was west and he told me the high schools there teach forestry courses. They don't here in NB and probably not in most other provinces. Used to be some Ag in high school. However, if you were in 'college prep' you took sciences and math and no Ag.

Caveman your doing a good deed. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

WDH

My daughter won the State FFA Tree ID contest all four years that she was in High School.  Imagine that  :D.

The FFA Forestry Field Days are great events and the students learn a lot about Forestry.  This inspires many to pursue a career in Forestry like Dodgy Loner and my daughter.  I supported the Field Days for many years by conducting and judging the tree ID contest. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

caveman

WDH, my oldest daughter, who is now a freshman in college, was second high individual in the state during her tenth grade year.  Another on our team beat her out by two points.  Morgan, my daughter, missed swamp tupelo on the dendrology part of the contest or she would have had the high score.  She still gets mad when I show her a swamp tupelo.  When they got to the national contest, she tied a kid from Ohio for second highest individual score in the nation.

It looks like the schools from Georgia slightly to your east are really competitive.  I think I remember meeting an advisor named Barry Norris a few years ago at one of the national contests.  The Georgia teams consistently do well at the national forestry contest.  I coach some other contests but forestry and ag mechanics are my favorites.  Again, I will definitely need some help getting these students ready.
Caveman
Caveman

sandhills

caveman, I recall you having another team at Nationals a few years back, keep up the good work!  Was that the one your daughter was on?  My hat's off to you.

caveman

Sandhills, we did have a team that was fortunate enough to win the state contest and get an opportunity to compete in the national contest a few years ago.  My oldest daughter was on that team.  She finished up her FFA experience at this year's national convention by serving as the chairman on the parliamentary procedure team.  They placed 3rd in the nation and had the highest written test and team test scores.   
My middle daughter, who is a freshman, was an alternate on this year's forestry team that competed in the state contest.  There were still several students practicing even though only four students per team could compete.  The previous two years, we did not make it out of our district.   

I started looking over the contest specimen list for the national contest last night and discovered that several things have changed in the last few years.  It looks like I will have to learn how to identify several "new to me" trees.  I may be asking some FF members to send me some real samples after my students learn the dendro fact sheets.

Due to the tireless work of my co-worker and some talented students, Kathleen High School FFA has had a very successful year or two.
Caveman
Caveman

sandhills

I'd be happy to send you any samples I may be able to come up with, just let us know the list.  BTW if you ever run into a Mr. Young from ND at any national competition tell him his brother Pat says hi  ;D. 

WDH

I went to Nationals once when my daughter competed.  It was quite the show. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

caveman

I will look for him Pat.
WDH, when did you and your daughter go to nationals?  Was it held in Louisville or Indianapolis?  I am just trying to figure out if our paths may have crossed at one time or another.  Usually, when I am at nationals, regardless if I am taking a team or not, I try to go with the forestry team coaches on Thursday.  I have been able to tour some really interesting places on the Thursday tour (they did not have it this year).  I have been to a kiln, hardwood saw mill, veneer mill, Wood-mizer in Indy and a host of other places on the tours.
Caveman
Caveman

WDH

I believe that it was the Fall of 2002, and it was in Louisville.  My daughter won Nationals in Forestry Proficiency.  Were you there?
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

caveman

Winning a national proficiency is quite an accomplishment.  Please accept a belated congratulations to you and your daughter.  I was at that convention that year and attended the forestry contest even though we did not have a team competing until the following fall.  If memory serves, it was really cold and windy that week.  The forestry contest was held at Bernheim (sp) Forest. 

We had a national proficiency finalist for the first time this year but his proficiency was in specialty animal production (tropical fish farm).  He did not win but was awarded an agricultural tour to Costa Rica and $500.  Hopefully he will require a chaperone. 
Caveman
Caveman

WDH

Yes, it was a big deal, and I was very proud of her.  Forestry, of all things, imagine that  :)

Maybe you will get to sample some Costa Rican coffee in situ. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

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