Social Forestry is a holistic approach to forestry. Most of modern forestry has been extractive and industrial. Author Tomi Hazel Vaarde will discuss what we can learn from the landscape and how we can tend to land and culture at the same time. On Wednesday April 23rd from 7-8 pm at Northwest Nature Shop, Hazel wills share the vision and stories of Social Forestry, as well as the skills and practices.
Tomi Hazel Vaarde is the pen name of Tom Ward, a long time citizen of Ashland. Hazel is the cultural name now used in Social Forestry work.
Arriving in Ashland in the early 70’s Tomi Hazel kept busy in social organizing, as President and Board Member of several startup non-profits, including the Ashland Community Food Store, Ashland Community Health Clinic, Hokola commune in the Colestine, and The Last Resort on the Greensprings. Hazel is a founder and member of South Mountain Friends Meetings. In the early 80’s Hazel was instrumental in the Pacific Northwest organizing of Tilth, Provender, and Permaculture. Two years as an instructor and administrator at D-Q University in Davis led to many years of teaching the Permaculture Design Course and advanced courses at several institutes in California, PNW, South Africa, Arizona, Taiwan and Ashland.
In the 1990’s Hazel stewarded “Tom’s Garden Cottage” on upper Bush Street and carried apprentices and tours, eldered the Wilderness Charter School at Ashland High, advised and worked for The Rogue Institute of Economy and Ecology. Hazel sat on the Ashland Forestry Commission and advised and worked with Lomakatsi and the Ashland Ranger District. Many organic farms and permaculture homesteads have had the benefit of Hazel’s counsel.
For the last quarter century Hazel has been stewarding a land tending field station and forestry camp at Wolf Gulch Ranch in the Little Applegate canyon.
