Tree to Table: Chainsaw Safety/Maintenance and Tree Felling with Joe Watson | December 7, 2024

Join Intersections at a local woodlot for a chainsaw safety & maintenance workshop. The single day workshop will include instruction on learning how a chain saw is put together, sharpening your chain saw and safely felling trees. There will be several ash trees felled as part of our day in the woods on the local property of a member of the Grey Bruce Woodlot Owners Association. Joe Watson a retired professional forester will lead the session. You are welcome to bring your own chainsaw and safety equipment although there will also be a spare set that can be used by participants in turn.

This is the first part of a series of sessions which will include sawing/milling and drying lumber, forest growth and woodlot management. To complete a "forest to finish" process we plan to build a table(s) with the wood cut in the woodlot at this session. There will be lots of opportunity to learn how to identify tree species and see the signs of local wildlife in the woods. Building understanding of forest ecology, how trees grow in the context of a living forest as well as how this affects the properties of the wood and its quality for working with it in the shop is part of the aim we have in offering this series of sessions. However, there is no requirement or commitment being made for participation in subsequent sessions.

The workshop will be held Saturday December 7. Meeting outside Intersections shop at 299 10 Street E we will carpool to the property in Chatsworth owned by Patty and Paul Kruis. You may drive by yourself if you do not want to return to downtown Owen Sound. We will meet at 9 AM and return by 4:30 PM. Lunch and refreshment are not provided - please bring your own. Wear appropriate clothing for potentially changeable weather, especially sturdy footwear. This session is not a training course leading to certification.

Beginners welcome!