Interview with Tom Wessels, Terrestrial Ecologist (from the archives)

Today I air a fanboyish interview with author, educator, terrestrial ecologist and inspiration, Tom Wessels.

Tom has written extensively on “forest forensics” and what I call “landscape tracking”, learning to read the signs of the forest to identify the ecological history and disturbance events which have affected that landscape. He looks to topographical features such as hills or the lack there of, floral composition of forest sites (which trees are present and who is not), and presence of any human made structures even when those structures have no relevance and therefore are invisible to the modern eye. These signs and more point to a hidden history revealed by his humble presentation of He has been known to be able to identify a storm event from hundreds of years ago, which has toppled a tree in a random forest in New England down to the minute. He explains some of the ways he is able to deduce this throughout the show.

We also talk about his books, Reading The Forested Landscape, The Myth of Progress, and Forest Forensics among others. Tom shares ideas on ways we can imagine the future based on models of organization seen in nature, which we could adopt to create more sustaining, transformative, healing culture. He truly is a wealth of ecological knowledge and understanding of the New England forest landscape. Tom was, as I expected, detailed, sharp and full of insight. Well worth the listen.

This interview was originally broadcast November 18, 2019.