Paper Birch---The Giving Tree

Why select the paper or canoe birch as the focus for an exhibit at the Johnson Heritage Gallery? The tree has been a major part of the program at North House Folk School since it's beginning almost 10 years ago. Teachers and students have worked with almost every part of the tree during this time. Creations have ranged from skis to canoes to delicate baskets and jewelry. Because of this close association with the birch tree, North House and the Johnson gallery chose the story of the tree as their first "joint-venture".

From a purely aesthetic view, birch with its graceful silhouette, and distinctive white bark with ever vigilant black eyes defines what the northwoods is "all about" to many residents and visitors alike. What would the forests of northern Minnesota be like without the birch tree? What would be lost? What would replace it?

We need to look far back into history to truly understand "why a birch tree exhibit"? Why not oak, white pine, or basswood-they all have their own unique and fascinating story and have been used in many projects at North House.

The story of the birch tree brings together: past and present uses from around the world; its cultural value relative to spiritual importance, art, literature and music ; the "science" of tree; management of northern forests; and what the future holds for the tree.

The birch tree is, arguably, the most versatile tree in the northern forest. Every part of the tree has been used at one time or another by peoples indigenous to the northern forest. Cultures in Siberia, Canada, Alaska, Great Lakes Region, Scandinavia, Korea, and Japan all have age-old traditions relating to the use of "white-barked" birches-there are many species of birch in the northern forest with properties similar to our paper birch.

Although we focus on all of the uses of the tree in the exhibit, it is the use and properties of the outer bark that really distinguish it from other trees in the northern forest. European, northern Asian and North American cultures have all treasured the outer bark. The outer bark can be harvested without killing the tree and a new, but structurally different layer will replace the "first bark". Yes, the tree changes dramatically in appearance. Some trees may die after the bark is removed. But there is a long tradition of harvesting outer bark and that practice can now be related to the growth of the tree and what the tree does to "heal" the wound created by bark harvest.

In a general sense, use of the outer bark can be placed in two broad categories-use of sheets of bark and weaving of bark. Throughout the range of birch in North America, Native Peoples predominantly used sheets of bark. The sheets were shaped by folding, with or without cutting, strengthened and reinforced with stem material from willows, hazel and other species and laced together with materials such as spruce and willow root, and cedar and basswood inner bark. The most renowned of these "baskets" was the birch bark canoe, but baskets of all sizes and shapes were made for use in gathering, preparing, cooking, and storing food, and transportation. The baskets were and still are of great utility, but they are also fine works of art. The work of present day artists and crafts-people builds on age-old tradition as they adapt use of roots, summer and winter bark, and other plant materials to their vision.

Birch bark weaving seems to have been the predominant form of use of birch outer bark in northern Europe and northern Asia (Siberia)-although they undoubtedly used sheets of bark as well. Birch bark weaving has been one of the main class themes at North House during the first decade. All of these ideas are rooted in the traditions brought to North America by Finnish, Swedish, Russian and other immigrants from northern areas where white barked birch species similar to our birch occurred. Woven items cover a huge range of shapes and include baskets of many sizes, shoes, jewelry, mats, knife handles and sheaths to name a few things.

Birch bark was and remains important in creation of two dimensional art-for example collages, painting on bark, and birch bark bitings.

We cannot leave a consideration of bark without mentioning its seemingly "magical" properties. The resistance of birch bark to decay has long been known. This "resistance" was recognized as a means of being able to store food in birch bark containers for relatively long periods-some have said it was the original "tupper ware". Modern science has identified many interesting chemicals in the bark of the birch tree. Laboratory tests have shown that these chemicals are the reason for this important anti-fungal decay resistance. Scientists at the Natural Resources Research Institute are working to develop medical, agricultural and other industrial uses for these chemicals.
Of course birch trees are mainly used for their wood and forests with birch are managed primarily with wood products in mind. Woods chips, mainly, but also lumber, veneer, and firewood drives most considerations about birch trees and forests.

At North House and among artists and crafts-people, wood from the birch is often placed in two broad categories-"normal" wood and "character" wood. Normal wood is what we have in mind when we think of making skis, snowshoes, toboggans, bowls, flooring, paneling and other things made from solid boards or chunks. It is a wonderful wood and often overlooked in fine woodworking.

Character wood is "somethin' else". In the past what is today viewed as character wood was "junk wood" often relegated to the firewood pile or left in the woods to decay and return to the soil. Sources of character wood include layered burls, eye burls, spalted (black-lined wood in early stages of decay) wood, "crotch" wood that forms in major forks in the tree, spoon and coat-hook wood from branches and other pieces of solid wood that have special characteristics because of their shape or coloration. These character woods are sought after for bowls, spoons, knife handles, and other specialty items.

Users of wood at North House often distinguish between using "greenwood" and dried wood. Greenwood is fresh from the tree and much easier to carve by hand for the creation of items such as bowls, spoons, and shrink boxes.

What of the rest of the tree? Let's quickly give some idea of how they are used and maybe a little historical perspective of those uses:

Twigs and branches: Small bundles have been used for many years as whisk-brooms. Branches collected in early summer with leaves attached are dried and re-wet to be used in the sauna. There is a small wreath industry that makes decorative wreathes from materials left after logging.

Sap: Birch sap can be harvested in late April and early May-just after maple sap is finished running. It can be concentrated into a syrup using methods similar to those used for making maple syrup. There are major differences between birch and maple sap but the one that seems to catch most peoples attention is that it takes about 100 gallons of birch sap to make a gallon of syrup-in maple the ratio is 30-40 gallons to 1!! Birch sap has been harvested for centuries in other parts of the world. In those areas, the sap is consumed more as a "nature" drink as it comes from the tree or some times with fruit juices added. Literally millions of gallons are harvested and used in this way in Russia and Siberia. Bottled birch sap can be purchased in shops in the Twin Cities that specialize in foods from Russia and the Ukraine.

Roots: Birch roots are wonderful-but much harder to gather than black spruce roots. They have been little used in North House projects. In northern Sweden, the Sammi people have a long history of using birch roots to make baskets and other items.

We hope this brief discussion has given you an appreciation for the birch tree and its great versatility to northern forest dwellers over the ages up to the present day. But what of the birch trees future in forests of northern Minnesota. Throughout northern Minnesota we see many dead and dying birch trees and many areas with birch are being harvested before the trees die. The reasons for "natural" mortality are usually related to the fact that many of our birch forests are "old" and very susceptible to stress brought on by drought and other adverse weather. These stresses set the tree up for attack by insects and fungal pathogens that kill the tree. If climate change is in fact occurring, we can expect this to affect our birch forests.

Generally areas that are harvested or where birch dies from insect and disease activity are not regenerated to birch. Commonly they are allowed to regenerate naturally, particularly if aspen is present, or they are regenerated by planting conifers. The presence of birch in Minnesota's forests is generally on the decline-only recently has there been significant concern about regenerating birch. Will birch disappear? Not likely as it is relatively resilient and sprouts from harvested and dying trees replace some trees and seed regeneration occurs where soil and weather conditions are "right". But if we want to maintain birch as an important part of the forest, landowners and managers will have to focus on regenerating the birch tree and not simply "letting nature take its course".

john zasada
Shavings Newsletter
North House Folk School
Feb. 2006