Interactive Reading Forest project installed at Taylor Creek

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - We grow up knowing that the rings of a tree show how old it is, but have we all looked into the meaning of each one and what it demonstrates about each year of life?

A new exhibit has been installed at the Taylor Creek Visitor's Center in South Lake Tahoe entitled "Reading Forest" that involves both kids and adults in the telling of a tree's story during its life. Reading Forest is a path of artwork that explores ideas of forest health, change, and resilience created by environmental artist Todd Gilens.

The culmination of four years of work, Gilens' art was commissioned by The National Forest Foundation as part of the Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership, a collaborative effort to restore the resilience of forests, watersheds, and communities on the west shore of Lake Tahoe.

"The art is to advance the idea of what a forest should look like instead of how they are," said Gilens.

He met with students from Shaina Lucas's second-grade class from Elevated Digital Learning Academy. The kids were encouraged to sit down on the art as they listen to Gilens explain trees, and how to look at the rings for an inside not the earth around them. He told how the rings represent not only age but drought, disease, and other environmental situations facing the trees.

Until the end of November 2021, the temporary artwork is on display with 38 unique drawings of imagined trees made with earth pigments and ink from the parking lot to the amphitheater.

Gilens said the words around the tree rings are from several different sources of inspiration including literature and the bible.

Trees gain wisdom as they grow and think, just as humans do. He explained the growth process to the kids from the tree's perspective, starting as a sprout and what it is learning along the years of life.

“I’m really excited about the Reading Forest project because it helps make ecological restoration personal,” said USDA Forest Service Public Services Staff Officer Daniel Cressy. “Public works of art connect us to our surroundings as well as our past and future – inspiring us all to play a part in caring for our public lands.”

The 38 trees are of differing sizes from young growth to old, each with words written in circles. They are meant to be enjoyed as the viewer circles around, following the rings and the written words. Gilens started each tree from the middle and worked out. The size and style of font are different in each tree since a year in their life is different.

"Trees think more slowly than humans do," Gilens told the second graders. "Insects need to think real fast."

For more information on the project, visit www.nationalforests.org/readingforest. For more about the artist, visit https://www.toddgilens.com/.

The Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership is a collaborative effort to restore the resilience of forests, watersheds, recreational opportunities, and communities on 59,000 acres of Lake Tahoe's west shore. Partners include the Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit; California Tahoe Conservancy; California State Parks; Tahoe Regional Planning Agency; Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station; Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board; National Forest Foundation; and Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team; along with two dozen stakeholders and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. Lake Tahoe West covers more than one-third of the Lake Tahoe Basin, a landscape stretching from the shoreline to the ridgetop, from Emerald Bay north to Tahoe City.

The Taylor Creek Visitor Center is located on Highway 89 approximately three miles north of the City of South Lake Tahoe. The actual center is closed at this time but the area and parking lot are open.