A
Tree for Every Cell
By Elizabeth Webster, Penn State Forest Resources
Extension Writer
Posted: August 18, 2003
A grand
fir tree seedling from Wisconsin grows outside of John and Jane Buzzells'
apartment at Foxdale Village retirement community in State College,
Pennsylvania. The tiny two-year-old seedling looks
irregular tucked in the back of their tended summer garden. A tomato
plant twice surpasses it in height. So John Buzzell makes a special
point of identifying it for visitors.
The seedling would have also looked irregular in the Buzzells' Wisconsin forest. The 5000 black walnut trees that John Buzzell planted between 1968 and 1974 dominate all 15 acres. Buzzell, who believes he would do things differently now, says, "It makes a good spreadsheet: one tree for every cell."
Numbers are important to a man like Buzzell who worked for 30 years as a physical chemist, and before that as a cryptanalyst in World War II, breaking code and picking up enemy transmissions behind the front lines. With three children and six grandchildren, even Buzzell's family tree looks like a mathematical equation. "It's nice when things work out symmetrically," he says. Just as Buzzell inherited the land from his parents, his three children will inherit it from him. The land is under a Stewardship Management Plan in Wisconsin that relieves the Buzzells of much of the property tax burden.
Buzzell knew exactly what he wanted to do with the property he inherited in Delavan, south Wisconsin. "I wanted to raise trees with nice long stems that were perfect, as tall as I could raise them. Now we know there are other things that we should be looking out for besides just raising trees: the wildlife and diversity."
Buzzell's wife, Jane, also inherited land from her family, 80 acres that the couple managed for 35 years before donating it to a public school in Wisconsin. There they established a pine plantation and underplanted pine seedlings in an oak forest. Factoring in the walnuts from the other property, they planted a total of 40,000 trees-a tremendous amount of work and expense for the Buzzells, who knew there would be no yield in their lifetime.
Buzzell joined the VIP-Coverts when the program began in 1992. At that time, he didn't know much about forest stewardship. Today, he is one of its strongest advocates. Buzzell is a founder and director of the Woodland Owners of Centre County, and a former board member of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association. He also holds a seat on the State Tree Farm Committee and the Legacy Subcommittee of the State Forest Stewardship Steering Committee.
Through his outreach activities, Buzzell hopes to appeal to the broader public as well as forest landowners. "The public also needs to know how important Pennsylvania forests are to the people," he says. "They don't actually have to go out into the forests and work there, but they have to know how important they are. And it's not just important because you want to go out and look at the birds, or you want to walk out into the forest and meditate, or you're interested in wildlife habitat or clean air and clean water. Those things are all important-but wood products are the fourth biggest industry in the state and they are equally important." Buzzell hopes that if the public is more aware of the importance of wood products to the state economy, citizens will support sustaining Pennsylvania's forest resources.
At Shaver's Creek Environmental Center in Huntingdon County where Buzzell volunteers for the Outdoor School and other school programs, he teaches children that, "Forests are more than trees." He says, "When I take the children out, we stop and talk about everything." In addition to his volunteer work with forestry associations, Buzzell is also on the board of directors at Foxdale Village, and is an active member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church. "My interest has grown beyond forest stewardship," he says. Buzzell says he has expanded the idea of sustainability to apply to every aspect of life, practicing what he calls, "the stewardship of the whole."
Buzzell practiced sustainability long before he learned about forest stewardship. The walnut trees that he and his wife planted 30 years ago are now as tall as 50 feet. Buzzell's contribution to forest stewardship, however, is immeasurable.
