Oak Hill & the Martha Berry Museum will offer a lecture March 4 and a woodturning demonstration March 5 to celebrate the exhibition, “From Tree to Treasure: Woodturnings by Al Christopher.”

Berry College Dana Professor of Biology Martin Cipollini will give a talk on restoring Mountain Longleaf pine and American chestnut trees in Georgia at 6 p.m. March 4 at The Martha Berry Museum.

Cipollini’s lecture will focus on the history, rationale, and early results of restoration efforts directed toward these trees in Georgia. Highlighting the role of Berry College and citizen-scientists, guests will learn about the success of these projects at Berry and how the work contributes to regional and national efforts. Through management efforts such as application of prescribed fire, breeding blight resistant plants, and planting orchards, these projects are helping restore threatened species to the wild.

Following the talk, guests will have the opportunity to see Christopher’s woodturning exhibition which features other species of trees found on Berry’s campus.

On March 5, Christopher, a Berry alum will lead a woodturning demonstration at the Christopher Browning Pavilion at Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum.  

Christopher’s work is on display for the first time publicly at Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum through May. He began turning wood after retiring from a career in custom millwork and construction. His passion and inspiration for woodturning comes from the stories behind each project and the ability to continually learn more about the art. Christopher has also helped with building projects on Berry’s campus. The Christopher Browning Pavilion located on the grounds of Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum is his most recent contribution.  

The woodturning demonstration will be from 6-8 p.m. March 5. Christopher will discuss woodturning basics, answer questions and turn a wood form on a lathe. The exhibition will remain open until 5:45 p.m. for guests to visit prior to the demonstration.  

Both events are free and open to the public.