New England Forests: New Tom Wessels book and film

Terrestrial ecologist and author Tom Wessels has a lot of fans, especially in New England. His "Reading the Forested Landscape" book and our film series of the same title are inspiring a lot of people to be forest detectives. There's no one more skilled at interpreting what we see in northeast woods than Tom. If you've ever been on one of his forest walks, you know how interesting his programs are.

Well, you're in for another treat! Tom has just finished a new book, "New England's Roadside Ecology", in which he takes readers to 30 roadside trailhead locations in the six New England states. At each site, Tom recounts a walk, pointing out unique and special natural features. As always, he interprets many of the phenomena we see but find puzzling, and explains many scientific principles; for example, do you know what "biological cognizance" means? You can find out next month (August, 2021), when the new book will be available for purchase.

One of the sites featured in the New Hampshire chapter of the book is a section of Pisgah State Park. Right now you can see most of this hike in our latest film, New England's Roadside Ecology, with Tom introducing the book and leading the way to a number of stops, explaining what you'll see along the walk. If you've enjoyed our previous films featuring Tom, you'll find this one just as intriguing and informative. See some old growth forest. Learn what causes those strangely bent, curving trees; why some trees have long, spiraling scars on their trunks; why some hemlocks near boulder caves are oddly contorted; why some understory hemlock saplings are "flat-topped", not conical. And more. As a professor emeritus at Antioch University New England, Tom has an effective teaching style that makes him quite popular.