We selectively harvest trees from a sustainably managed forest, creating a landscape rich in biodiversity, wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration and recreational opportunities. Forest management practices certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the American Tree Farm system.
Redwood And Giant Sequoia Groves (5:19)
Wild Thyme Forester John Henrikson tours the redwood grove planted 20 years ago in the west valley watershed reclamation zone after a winter ice storm destroyed the alder dominated forest. In this grove of 20 redwoods, the largest is 3 feet diameter. A second grove higher up in the hills has 60 redwoods planted 10 years ago. Groves of giant sequoias planted 20 years ago wind up the hillside roads. More plantings of 100 redwoods and 100 giant sequoias have begun another zone where alder trees have been harvested. Unlike alders with a short 60 year lifespan, redwoods and sequoias will live for hundreds a years, grow to a huge size and add create a more biodiverse ecosystem in this Southwest Washington forest.
The early days of April, before leaves and brush cover the landscape, are a good time to review the health of the forest. Wild Thyme Forester John Henrikson walks up the west side of forest, describing active surgical forestry, selectively harvesting mature alder trees to make room for large legacy firs, cedars and maples and planting new species. What was once an alder dominated forest after clear cutting in the 1970s and earlier, the Wild Thyme forest now has biodiverse species of Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Hemlock, Coastal Redwoods, Giant Sequoia, Pacific Yew, Black Cottonwood, Western White Pine, New England Hardwoods, Oregon Ash, Big Leaf Maple and many other species.
Wild Thyme Forester John Henrikson gathers redwoods and cedars from the Wild Thyme Campus tree nursery, with hundreds valuable conifer species, such as coastal redwoods, giant sequoias, western red cedars and western white pines John plants them in the hills above the campus, where alder trees were recently harvested. Over 200 hundred redwoods, cedars and sequoias will be planted here to regenerate the forest. In another location, John shows a ten year redwood grove with underbrush cleared away, and resumes spot planting cedars and redwoods in open spots next to a New England hardwood grove planted 20 years ago.
Welcome to Wild Thyme Farm, a 150 acre forestry farm in SW Washington. John Henrikson describes the lumber operation and how resources flow through different spaces on the farm. Formerly a dairy, buildings have been retrofitted for the stages of this FSC-certified lumber operation.
This video was made for the Online Permaculture Design Course with Oregon State University. To learn more about our programs with Oregon State University Permaculture, visit this link: https://workspace.oregonstate.edu/cou…
Tree cookies are cross-sections of tree trunks. Wild Thyme Forester John Henrikson describes how and tree cookie rings tell the history of the forest. Tight and wide rings reveal the evolution of the forest, competition from other trees, natural disasters, thinning and clear cutting. Each species has different growth capabilities and growth conditions over the years: Alpine Fir species, fast growing Alder, typical 50 year Alder, Western Hemlock. Tree rings of a 100 year old Douglas Fir grown in Wild Thyme Forest reveal the history of the forest.