In our attempts to understand complex phenomema, we tend to oversimplify. It is tempting, for example, to assume that environmentalists oppose cutting down trees. Yet on Proctor's Earth Day, a 60,000-pound "feller/buncher" machine roams a valuable piece of Proctor land known as The Triangle, grabbing ninety-foot tall white pines, cutting them with a circular blade and stacking them in huge, neat piles.

The project will yield approximately $30,000 in wood product, but the primary accomplishment is to decrease competition between trees and promote a healthier stand. The feller/buncher removes trees with such dexterity that the tops of neighboring trees are protected, and felled trees are arranged in a manner safer for chain saw work. Land Use Manager Dave Pilla and his students have identified trees to be taken out, and specific areas to be cleared to create open yards or "edge environments" for deer and other wildlife habitats. We're cutting trees for responsible forest management and a healthier environment.

Back on the central campus, we observe Proctor Earth Day with community service projects and faculty-sponsored workshops.

We lent the student camera to Adam, a sophomore, who captured these students pondering environmental responsibility against a deep, blue sky:

And this image of Nick, with a blue bird box: