Vermont Forests, Parks & Recreation partners with educators and basket makers Kerry Wood and Aaron Wood to present a black ash outreach event focused on splint pounding. Black ash trees (and all native ash trees) are threatened by emerald ash borer, an introduced insect that infests and kills almost all ash trees. Black ash are particularly susceptible to emerald ash borer infestation, and losing these trees creates both an ecological and cultural gap for forests and people.

Pounding black ash logs into splints is a lot of work, but together, we can preserve black ash  as splints for generations to come. Learn about the growth patterns of black ash, the skills needed to pound logs, and the baskets that come from them. Black ash logs will be harvested ahead of the workshop from Hardwick properties, likely at least one tree from the black ash stand behind Atkins Field and on CAE property. Emerald ash borer was confirmed in Hardwick in 2026.
 

REGISTER HERE.