Tree Farmer - May/June 2008 - (Page 5)

Ladybug Rocks: A Bright Memento By Johnson BRIGITTE When visitors leave the Buncombe Hollow Tree Farm in Woodland, Washington, they leave with something in their pockets to go along with the memories of their Tree Farm visit. Dardean and Walt Wheaton encouraged their great-granddaughter, Nikki, to create something special of her own during a visit to the family forestland five years ago, when Nikki was 4 years old. Nikki came up with the idea of ladybug rocks. She wanted all the visitors to her great-grandparents’ property to leave with something. She began collecting rocks from her great-grandparents’ Tree Farm property and along the riverbanks. Nikki painted them just like a ladybug — red and black — and started leaving them for visitors to take as a memento of their visit to the Buncombe Hollow Tree Farm. During the past five years, Nikki has painted approximately a 1,000 ladybug rocks. Although her younger brother, Colby, volunteered to help, this is Nikki’s project. In September 2007, the Wheaton’s hosted a family reunion for 60 relatives. Nikki began collecting rocks and painting them several weekends in advance of the reunion. She expanded her color palette to include many different colors of ladybugs. Wheaton family members came from all over, including England. Nikki’s great-uncle, Danny, Dardean’s brother, came with his two sons. Danny took his green ladybug rock back home to England with him and put it on his desk at work. His colleagues asked him about his unique ladybug rock and Danny relayed the story of his great-niece painting the rocks. He referred to his rock as “the traveling ladybug.” England was the first stop for the traveling ladybug. A co-worker of Danny’s took the ladybug rock on a trip to Bosnia. Since then, the ladybug rock has been to Armenia, Afghanistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The traveling ladybug also ran in the Chicago Marathon last year. Soon the traveling ladybug will embark on a trip to Africa. Every traveler sends Nikki an e-mail about his or her trip and even sends pictures of where the ladybug has spent the night. Dardean, Nikki’s very proud great-grandmother, said, “It’s a fantastic way for her to learn about the world.” Nikki is a fourth-grade student at Cummings Elementary in Keizer, Oregon. Brigitte Johnson is executive editor of Tree Farmer Magazine and director of communications for the American Forest Foundation. If you're interested in sharing your experience, please write to Sharing Your Experiences Editor, c/o American Forest Foundation, 1111 Nineteenth Street, N.W., Suite 780, Washington, DC 20036. Tree Farmer MAY/JUNE 2008 5 sharing your experiences

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tree Farmer - May/June 2008

Tree Farmer - May/June 2008
Contents
Sharing Your Experiences
Cover Story
Botanicals: Marketing Non-Timber Forest Products
An American Land Ethic: Protecting the Family Farm
Taxing Issues
Timber Talk
Tools & Techniques
Wildlife Matters
Gadgets & Gear

Tree Farmer - May/June 2008