Wendell Berry among Featured Speakers
Berea College will host a horse-logging conference at its Forestry Outreach Center October 29 through November 3. To culminate the week-long event, the public is invited to a free day of demonstrations and presentations on Saturday, November 3, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Speakers include noted Kentucky author and sustainable forestry advocate Wendell Berry. The event is open to people of all ages and takes place at the Berea College Forestry Outreach Center on Highway 21, just east of Berea.
Following an opening presentation at 9 a.m., activities include:
- 10 a.m. – Tree Selection and Log Felling Demonstration
- 11 a.m. – Horse Logging Demonstration
- Noon – Lunch on your own
- 1:30 p.m. – Rarer Than Pandas: Suffolk Punches–a special horse breed
- 2:30 p.m. – Silas Mason, Berea College and the Cradle of Forestry
- 3:30 p.m. Caring for Draft Horses
- 4:30 p.m. A Multi-Generational Conversation about Biological Woodsmanship, featuring Wendell Berry, Jason Rutledge, Ben Burgess, John Henry Hite, with Moderator: Clint Patterson, Berea College Forester
In addition to the presentations, the horses and logging equipment will be on display at the Forest Outreach Center. Now rare, Suffolk Punch draft horses originated more than two centuries ago in England, where they were bred for strength and work. Known for their gentle temperament and great strength, they are ideal horses for farm and forestry work. They once were plentiful and widely used until mechanized operations caused the breed to gradually become less common and at risk. Only about 2,000 are known to exist.
Berea College currently manages 9,000 acres of forest land. The college offers classes and outreach programs related to forestry and serves as a resource about long term forest management in the Southern Appalachian region.