Author: Leigh Greenwood

Why the Don’t Move Firewood Booth was Especially Relevant at Tanglewood on Parade

by Katie Robb, Don't Move Firewood Summer Intern

The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home, Tanglewood, offers what can only be considered a quintessential Berkshire experience. The crowds arrive with picnic baskets and blankets in hand, looking forward to the experience of listening to one of the country’s finest symphony orchestras perform outside on a fair summer evening. Tanglewood hosts a number of exciting events over the summer, including Tanglewood on Parade, which Don’t Move Firewood attended this August.

With the recent discovery that the Emerald Ash Borer has reached Boston, MA, our booth was especially relevant to the fair portion of the 30,000 guests that came in from the greater Boston area. Unfortunately, eradication on a large scale is no longer feasible for the emerald ash borer, making our message of slowing the insect particularly important.

On this particular day, our work was very much appreciated by those who stopped to talk with us. I saw how concerned and emotional many individuals became upon learning that the emerald ash borer had reached New England’s largest city. One woman was extremely upset and shared with me that she had been working hard to keep a 100 year old ash tree on her property healthy over the years. Another couple was concerned knowing that they had recently bought land containing many ash trees just north of Boston in New Hampshire; wondering how long it would be before their ash were under attack. Although most people who I spoke with had never heard of the emerald ash borer, realizing that it had become a present threat to the forests surrounding their homes, they were committed to learning more and invested in understanding what they could do to mitigate the problem. To most, I suggested that they take some of our pamphlets and insect identification cards and give them to neighbors and friends to increase awareness in their hometowns.

In addition to our timely relevance to the Boston community, this specific event targets a group of people who especially need to understand the impact of transporting firewood. The Berkshires is a popular vacation destination for those in the greater Boston area and the NYC metropolitan area who seek an opportunity to take a break from the city life. As thousands pour into Berkshire County every weekend, the risk of bringing in infested firewood increases. By attending popular tourist destinations in the Berkshires, such as Tanglewood, we can reach the people who we especially encourage to buy firewood locally to reduce the threat of introducing invasive species to the Berkshire forests.

A weekend of vegetables, rabbits, and invasive species education

By Ariel Kirk

In early August, Katie and I set up the Don’t Move Firewood both at the NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) conference at the University of Massachusetts campus in Amherst, MA.  The event was busy with seminars and workshops for both the aspiring organic farmer and tips to improve the methods of those in the know for decades.  People could learn about farming with draft horses, teens could take workshops on raising goats and rabbits, what were the best options to fight garden and farm pests without using chemicals, and how to market that bumper crop of great veggies when the harvest is ready. It was interesting to see the variety of products being sold – and the variety of questions we were getting at the Don’t Move Firewood booth.

One of the more common questions was about the odd purple box that we have on display, and how it relates to the emerald ash borer.  These purple “traps” are actually survey tools that help biologists search for the emerald ash borer more efficiently.  The traps are a specific purple color that emerald ash borers are attracted to, and then they have a very sticky substance that catches any beetle that tries to land on the purple panels. Biologists then periodically check these traps, allowing the experts to better located new infestations of emerald ash borer. The trees with these traps in them are labeled, with an explanation is given on a plaque for the public to read…which is great if you’re hiking and come across one, but easy to miss if you are driving past.

Some of the visitors to our booth didn’t initially understand the message of “Don’t Move Firewood” when they first read our banner, but once we explained the concept of the issue a light bulb went off and they were making great connections to similar problems in their area- Zebra mussels in the Great Lakes and other waterways across the nation, Asian carp disrupting native aquatic ecosystems, and many invasive plant species crowding out native plants and skewing the regional environmental balance.  All of these instances are great examples of introduced species that have had a negative effect on the native environments, just like how the invasive insects we talk about have a dramatic negative effect on our forests.

Now, next time you see those odd purple boxes hanging in the trees off the side of the road you’ll know exactly what they’re for and how they’re helping scientists keep tabs on the emerald ash borer in the region.

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and Firewood, Guest blog by TNC Summer Staff Ariel Kirk

Here at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, NY, contra dancing is king!  Contra dancing is similar to square dancing – you dance with a partner as the steps are called and then join up with other partners to form larger, more intricate dances as the song progresses. All those foot stomps and counting steps reminded me of something “buggy”…if you ever encounter any potential invasive insects, it’s better to take a photo and call the hotline than to just squish them flat!

We had a great number of visitors to our Don’t Move Firewood booth at Falcon Ridge that were initially thinking that the best course of action, if they come across these critters, would be to squish them. Not so! Killing one insect out of a larger population really won’t help matters, but if you document that insect with a photograph and contact the right authorities (like your state department of agriculture, or a local knowledgeable master gardener if you can’t quite figure it out) in your area, you’d be a huge help. Biologists can then investigate the insect or tree symptom and determine the best course of action in that location. Your report might be much needed information, allowing the experts to track the invasive species and have the most up to date statistics on the health of our trees and our forests.

Some visitors to the booth were wondering how to procure firewood for their camping needs if they can’t bring it with them.  That’s a great question.  Many state parks won’t allow you to bring in firewood any more because invasive species are such a problem to our native ecosystem, so you’ll need to plan ahead. In most cases, you’ll be buying firewood from a local grocery store or gas station. First, check out the bag. The best type of wood has a shield-like emblem on the bag from USDA- APHIS that certifies the wood has been heat-treated to the correct temperature and duration to ensure it is safe to use and no hitchhiking insects are within the wood. And don’t worry- no pesticides or chemicals are used for treating the wood, it is just heated to a high temperature for a specific amount of time designed to kill any insects or pathogens in or on the firewood.

Happy camping to you and contra dance your heart out!

Tunes, Bugs, and Balloons with the Don't Move Firewood booth

by Ariel Kirk

The Don’t Move Firewood summer education booth spent a great weekend in Greenfield MA at the Green River Festival for the 4^th summer in a row! This year we were stationed on the lower field with a beautiful, open area reaching all the way to the river.  It was great to feel that breeze off the water occasionally and use our handy Don’t Move Firewood fans to battle the summer sun.  Our neighboring booth, Deerfield River Watershed Alliance, told us that there were even shuttles available to festival-goers that would take them for a dip in the river.

Our booth was hopping with all the interested people checking out our emerald ash borer and Asian longhorned beetle specimens.  Many of the patrons were familiar with us from past years and were excited to see us back.  Some had new questions or were concerned with how far the invasive species, specifically the emerald ash borer, have been spreading.  It was great to interact with so many people and to continue to spread the word about how damaging non-native insects can be to our native forests.

This great site also gave us perfect seats after-hours when the hot air balloons began to rise into the air.  Folks could choose to go on a hot air balloon adventure, a la Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, or stay affixed safely to the ground by a giant rope but still have a great view from the basket of the floating balloon.  Watching people unfurl the balloons and seeing them rise in the air was a great sight and one of my favorite experiences at the Green River Festival.

Finding Fame at Grey Fox

by Katie Robb

Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival is unlike any event I’ve ever been to before. First off, there are easily over 4,000 campers there to enjoy bluegrass 24/7. However, what’s impressive is not the sheer number of campers, but their style of camping. These people are some of the most serious campers I’ve ever seen. Some may simply pop up a tent and call it good enough, but others set up what can only be considered a compound; networks of tents and giant canopies, kitchens, showers, carpets, lounge chairs, and the occasional flagpole. But what really blew me away was how many of the visitors to our booth already knew about the Emerald Ash Borer or the Asian Longhorned Beetle.

I had to completely switch up how I talked to people at our booth at Grey Fox. Instead of giving an overview, I dove right into the nitty gritty. Learning how to identify the insects and their indicators was a common request this weekend.  For many, the chance to see our Emerald Ash Borer and Asian Longhorned Beetle specimens was their first time seeing the real thing; even for people who live in areas where these insects are present. On top of that, there were a lot of eager individuals who asked to take home a stack of our pamphlets so that they could educate their friends and family. Often times I found myself getting sidetracked talking to people about other invasive species that they were interested in or had experience with. When we dressed up in costume, there were so many people who flocked to us wanting to take pictures with the Asian Longhorned Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer. I figured this must be what it feels like to be famous.

Grey Fox was easily one of my favorite festivals of the summer so far, and I can’t wait to go back next year. If you’re into bluegrass, I recommend you go sometime. I’d also like to add, if you’re into anything that relies on the presence of a healthy forest (i.e. clean air, firewood, natural beauty, outdoor activities, anything built from wood, etc.), I recommend that you stop by our booth or check out our website to learn more about what you can do to protect our trees.

Speaking for the Trees @ Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival

By Katie Robb, Don't Move Firewood Summer Intern

Our second event of the summer was a huge success. We reached nearly 1,000 people over the course of the weekend while at Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival in Croton-On-Hudson, NY. There were many visitors who remembered us from years past; some even said that we’re their favorite booth! One teenage boy has been collecting our prize wheel give-aways, with the goal of getting something new every year. This time he walked away with one of our new trucker hats to add to his Don’t Move Firewood collection. Needless to say, he’s practically an expert on the Asian Longhorned Beetle and Emerald Ash Borer at this point.

Upon arriving at Clearwater on Friday night, we were directed to set up our booth in the Activist Area. It was at that moment that I found myself in a humorous situation. I attended a college which is known for being very liberal and rife with activism. However, over the course of my four years in school I was averse to becoming involved in the hot political issues on campus. I was probably as un-activist as you could get. Ironically, I now find myself working as an activist this summer; I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues (as Dr. Seuss’ Lorax would say). Clearly there are issues that make an activist out of me and I just hadn’t realized it yet.

Spending my weekends dressed in an Emerald Ash Borer costume and talking to people about the risk of transporting tree-killing invasive insects when moving firewood is really exciting. The highlight of my weekend was when I connected with an individual who admitted to recently cutting down a tree in their back yard with the intention of making firewood to use when camping. They realized that they could’ve unknowingly jeopardized their favorite summer camping spot in Maine by bringing firewood along with them from their home in Connecticut, and then promptly agreed to buy firewood local to the campsite. It’s encouraging to see that the effort I make can have an immediate impact on reducing the threat to our forests’ health. Although, I can’t claim all the credit, visitors to our booth often take our education materials for their friends and family who they know use firewood for camping or heating their homes. A cooperative effort gives our beloved maples, willows, birch, elm, and ash trees (to name a few!) the chance to stand tall for generations to come.

So I suppose it’s time to admit that I’m actually an activist. In retrospect, The Lorax was always one of my favorite books growing up as a child.

Driving through the two big intermountain states of Idaho and Montana this summer will bring you past a whole bunch of Don’t Move Firewood billboards! With locations at nearly all incoming interstates for Idaho, and several locations near Yellowstone in Montana, the total coverage from these billboards will be a minimum of 2.7 million viewers during the summer months, with the possibility of many more viewers if funds permit extensions on the billboard rentals. Here at Don’t Move Firewood, we are thrilled to participate in partnerships like this- many thanks to Idaho Department of Lands, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Forestry Division, and the United States Forest Service for their excellent work!

Here’s the design chosen by Idaho:

And here is the design chosen by Montana:

And here’s what the Montana design looked like in person at one of the locations!

We also made billboard in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio in 2014. Read about those efforts, and see their design, here.