USA

World Wood Day, an international gathering of public officials, forestry and forest products experts, business leaders, scientists, and artisans will convene mainly in the United States and China in late March to examine the growing value of wood as a natural resource and a medium for cultural expression.

The Melting Pot of American Culture and How it has Impacted the Use of Wood will be the theme of the 2014 World Wood Day meetings, according to Mike Wen-Pin Hou, director of the International Wood Culture Society (http://www.iwcs.com) and a board member of the World Wood Day Foundation, which is sponsoring the activities.

World Wood Day will be observed March 20-25, 2014 in Fujian Province, China as part of the IWCS agenda. Related events are being planned by an IWCS committee in Washington, DC for March 21 and 22, including a symposium, a woodturning demonstration, and a tour of a local wood art collection.

The March 21 event will take place at the Renewable Natural Resource Foundation headquarters 5430 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, Maryland, and will be videocast to participants in China.

Highlights of the program will include discussions by a variety of talks by wood experts, including:

• Harvey Green, professor at Northeastern University in Boston – Woods and Woodworking of the Southern Appalachian Mountains
• Buddy Showalter, vice president of technical transfer at the American Wood Council – How Wood Standards Affect Wood
• Chen Zhangjing, professor at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA – The importance of seasoning wood for making wood products
• Louise Murgia, Society of American Foresters – How SAF has Influenced Wood and Forest Culture in the US
• Barbara Weber, Washington, DC, artist – Baskets-From the Perspective of Wood
• James Cottle – The Wooden Fish Decoy: History, Craft, and Function
• Stan Wellborn, American Association of Woodturners – Utilizing Craft’s Most Organic Material: A Short History of Modern Woodturning

Demonstrations on Native American wood carving, wooden basket making, wood turning, and wooden acoustic guitar making with accompanying music will conclude the first day’s program.

The March 22 events at the same location will include special programs for children to focus on tree growing and wood products, and craft demonstrations, including toy making, basket weaving, wooden instrument making, woodturning, Native American woodcarving, and furniture making.

Also scheduled is a tour at the home of a private wood collector near Washington, DC.