Broholm and Cavicchi's "Witness Tree Project" volume 3

For the past two years Dale Broholm (Senior Critic) and Dan Cavicchi (Assc. Professor, HPSS) have run the “Witness Tree Project” together.  The course has taken them and their students to the eastern shore of Maryland and to Long Island to collaborate with the National Parks Service on projects that make use of the wood from historic “witness trees”, those of such longevity that they have witnessed the sweep of human history.

National Park Week begins on Saturday, April 16,  with the 6:30-8:30pm opening of “Reclaimation: Sculpting History”, an exhibition of 25 original student works from the Witness Tree year 2 at the Old Orchard Museum in Long Island. The objects range from hand-crafted books to large-scale furniture pieces, all utilizing plant material from Sagamore Hill NHS and George Washington Birthplace National Historic Site.  The work was created in response to the landscape, the site’s history and the Roosevelt family and will be on display through June 5, 2011.

Next year, the course will run closer to home in Brookline, Massachusetts  where recently the National Parks Service felled a historic elm on the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. Olmsted bought “Fairsted” in 1883 and removed other trees from the estate but kept this particular tree to be a focal point in the landscape.The tree was such a beloved neighborhood landmark that it has its own Facebook page and has garnered much media attention. Cavicchi will teach about Olmsted’s work, times, and ouvre and under the tutelage of Broholm, students will use the wood from his elm to fashion pieces that respond to the tree’s historical context.

To read the CBS local story on the project click here

To read the Huffington Post’s story on the project click here

To read wbur’s story or to hear a recorded story click here

To read boston.com’s story click here
To read the National Parks Service press release click here