One of the of best ways to share your experiences with and/or learn more about forests, trees and their wood from botanists, dendrologists, wood collectors, woodworkers, and other wood lovers, is to attend a local, regional, or international meeting (also called "woodfest") of the Society.
Members and guests come to hear or see programs about wood, talk about wood, view demonstrations on woodworking, tour interesting woodlands and/or wood-related operations, and choose from hundreds of wood specimens at the auction.
If a meeting in your area is not listed below, please volunteer to host one - you can learn the procedures from experienced hosts listed on this page. Meetings can be planned on a small scale. Even so, do not be surprised if members from other countries attend your meeting. IWCS members include botanists, dendrologists, wood technologists, wood collectors, wood workers, and people who just admire the beauty and versatility of wood. Everyone is welcome to join us!
Tuesday, June 16 through Saturday, June 20, 2009 in the Netherlands.
The meeting will take place in the Netherlands at a site yet to be announced. A pre-meeting tour (focusing on dendrology and Botany) as well as a post-meeting tour (focusing on cultural aspects) is foreseen. The exact location is as yet unknown, however public transport in the Netherlands is excellent and since distances are short, transport will not be a problem.
As far as maps are concerned, you could surf to Wikipedia and check out Netherlands which will; include several small maps. Click on one and a larger version will pop up. All cities and major towns in our country are shown. To give you an idea of how small our country really is -- you can drive from Groningen in the north to Maastricht in the south in some 4 hours, given a speed of 75 miles per hour (the official limit!) and no traffic jams at all (well -- that would be on a Sunday morning). We do have a good public transport system that's reasonably efficient and not very expensive. By rail you'd take about 4 hours as well to cover this distance. Good road maps are available everywhere and all railway stations feature maps of the railroad system -- There's just the one railway company that you'd normally be dealing with, and there are some local, private lines.
Further information on location and program will be forthcoming. If you should have any suggestions or wishes, please inform us at:
Nelis Mourik, email: nelismourik@hetnet.nl
Willem Hurkmans, email: w.hurkmans@home.nl
IWCS Events by Countries with Active Chapters
Australia
Canada
United Kingdom
May 10th 2008 Spring Meeting at Westonbirt, 'The National Arboretum', Nr Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England GL8 8QS. As is our normal practice, we will aim to gather on Saturday at about 11.00 am. The Arboretum is situated on the A433 approximately 3 miles south east of Tetbury. (Look out for the brown signs).
Westonbirt, part of the UK Forestry Commission, is well known to many of our members and the following quote is taken from their website, where further information can be found:-
"Westonbirt, The National Arboretum is one of the most spectacular tree gardens in the world. An historical collection of over 3,000 different trees and shrub species many of which are rare or endangered in their native lands. Covering six hundred acres, the arboretum is an inspiring place to relax, get back to nature and indulge your senses."
It is home to one of the finest collections of temperate trees and shrubs in the world, celebrated not only for its diversity of species but also its maturity and unique planting style. Set out over 600 acres the Collection now holds around 3,000 taxa (different kinds) and over 15,500 individual specimens, many of them very rare, or the largest of their kind in the country.
Following our business meeting we hope to arrange a guided tour of the older parts of Westonbirt, and by kind permission of the curator, we have been given permission to visit the "Wood-Pile", but on the strict understanding that no power tools are to be used in securing samples.
Western Europe
United States
Great Lakes Region
MAY 17, 2008 - IWCS SPRING MIDWEST REGIONAL MEETING at the Wright Township Fire Dept., Midland, Indiana on Hwy 59 South of Jasonville, Indiana.
A sawmill will be located on site along with craft and other wood related displays. several demonstrations along with a wood and craft auction will be held. Your displays are welcome. Bring a friend and introduce him/her to IWCS.
Registration starts at 8:00 a.m. a registration fee of $8.50 per person includes Morning coffee and doughnuts and a delicious country meal prepared and served by the men and women of the Wright Township Fire Department.
Call Herb or Jacqueline Stough at 812-847-4071 to register or receive more Information for attending and participation.
Northeast Region
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Northwest Region
May 17, 2008 Spring Meeting, at Jim Campbell's ranch in Winlock WA. At this meeting we will auction the remainder of Frank Lynn's wood.
Contact Jim Campbell for information:
July 19, 2008 Summer Meeting, at Fred & Mildred Holders home in Snohomish WA.
Contact Fred Holder for information, email:
Central Region
Southeast Region
June 6-7, 2008, IWCS Southeast Regional Meeting, Fork Union Military Academy in the Middle School Gymnasium, Fork Union, Virginia.
Fork Union is 17 miles South off I-64, 20 miles East of Charlottesville Virginia. Exhibits and tours will be on Friday. Demonstrations, seminars and an auction on Saturday.
Contact Chrs Nothnagle by email: for more information.
Southwest Region
May 10-11, 2008 IWCS Southwest Regional Meeting at Sequoia Vista Tree Farm in Mendocino, California.
The meeting will be held near the town of Mendocino and at Ft. Bragg California beginning at 9:00 am each day. Registration Fee - $40 per person (lunch 2 days, and entrance fee for the Botanical Garden).
Saturday, May 10th the meeting will be held at the Sequoia Vista Tree Farm, 39500 Comptche-Ukiah Rd. The Sequoia Vista Tree Farm is a family owned operation of sustained forestry. You can see more of the tree farm at www.sequoia-vista.com. The day will be spent with a driven tour of the tree farm (it is a rather steep hillside location), members wood/craft display, lunch and wood cutting demonstrations (band mill, Lucas Mill and chainsaw lumber making).
Toward the end of the day a self guided walking tour through the close-by Pygmy Forest will tell of the interesting geology of the area and how the plants/trees have adapted.
Directions to Sequoia Vista Tree Farm: At Cloverdale on Highway 101 take Highway 128 exit to Fort Bragg / Mendocino (at the north end of Cloverdale). Take Highway 128 until it hits the coast Highway 1 and continue north on Coast Highway 1 (there is no turn off from 128 to 1; 128 just turns into HWY 1 at the ocean). Take Highway 1 up the coast through Albion and Little River. Just before the town of Mendocino is Comptche-Ukiah Road. Turn left at Comptche-Ukiah Road (the Stanford Inn is at the bottom of Comptche-Ukiah Road). Go up the Comptche-Ukiah road just past the 5.25 mile marker (white paddle-like signs on the right side of the road) to 39500 Comptche-Ukiah Road. That is the tree farm home address. There are very large numbers on a BLUE mailbox (the only blue mailbox on the road). A sign will put up a for IWCS with an arrow pointing to parking. There are two locations for parking. One in the upper driveway and the other at the new shop where lunch and the displays will be.
Sunday, May 11th the meeting will be at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens 18220 North Highway One, Ft. Bragg CA 95437, Phone 707-964-4352. The Botanical Gardens will provide a guided tour. You can see more about the gardens at www.gardenbythesea.org. The tour will be followed by a staff presentation. We also will have a California State Forester presentation on the local Jackson State Forest Harvest Plan.
Lodging: You are on your own for lodging, breakfasts and dinners. The motels in Ft. Bragg (about 15 miles away) will probably be the least expensive. RVs can stay at the near by Van Damne State Park. Little River Inn, www.littleriverinn.com, is right next to the Van Damne State Park, with beautiful views of the ocean. The Antioch Ranch, www.antiochranch.com, directly across the street from the tree farm has some cabins.
IMPORTANT: To help with meeting plans we need to know how many will be attending the meeting. Please send the Registration Fee (check written to William Tarleton) by March 31st to:
William Tarleton
3115 Del Oceano Drive
Lafayette, CA 94549-2004
Phone: 925-939-8052
Email:
Other Events of Interest
Statement on IWCS Liability for members traveling to Society activities
(As found in the December 2003 issue of World of Wood )
The following, written by an attorney, and reviewed in 1998 by the Board of Trustees, has been edited so the information applies to all meetings, wood collecting trips, tours, and other IWCS activities, domestic and international.
"The International Wood Collectors Society has limited resources and cannot afford a liability insurance policy. Therefore, anyone who attends an IWCS meeting, and/or any pre-meeting and post-meeting activities, by attending such events and activities hereby agrees to the following: "
"1) Travel has risk and those who attend meetings and any related activities assume any and all risks involved, including, without limitation, the risk of bodily injury, death and/or property damage; and 2) To release the IWCS and its officers, trustees, employees, and agents, including the meeting hosts, trip coordinators, and leaders from, and agree not to sue any or all of them on account of or in connection with any claims, causes of action, injuries, damages, costs or expenses arising out of attending the meeting and any related activities, whether or not caused by the negligence or other fault of the IWCS."
