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Colorado State Forest Service News

Handcrafted Wood Shelter to Be Raised at Borden Memorial Forest

Bordenmem
The Borden Memorial Forest is a 70-acre private forest and certified Tree Farm west of Fort Collins.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – This Sunday, Sept. 4, the Colorado State Forest Service will help carpentry students raise an old-fashioned, handcrafted timber frame for a new shelter at Colorado State University’s Borden Memorial Forest west of Fort Collins. When complete, the new structure will be used for environmental education purposes for classes and other groups.

The shelter frame beams and components were constructed from local wood and by hand, through a workshop offered by Rocky Mountain Workshops, where participants learn to utilize traditional “mortise and tenon” pegged joinery in square rule timber framing. The workshops are held at the CSU Mountain Campus.

Science Care, an organization that facilitates whole body donations for global medical research, contributed the funding for the shelter to help enhance environmental education efforts at the Borden Memorial Forest.

“Science Care is pleased to play a part in supporting the Borden Memorial Forest Educational Shelter. This donation represents our commitment to environmental stewardship and education for Colorado residents and visitors, today and for generations to come,” said Melinda Ellsworth, vice president of Donor Services for Science Care.

The Borden Memorial Forest is a 70-acre private forest and certified Tree Farm west of Fort Collins. Used as a living classroom for students of all ages, the forest was donated to CSU by Tom Borden – the state forester for Colorado for a record 25 years – who passed away in 2009. The CSFS Fort Collins District manages the forest on the property, which in recent years has faced a mountain pine beetle epidemic and the devastating 2012 High Park Fire but remains vigorous and resilient due to ongoing forest stewardship.

Besides adding the new structure, future funding from Science Care will also help CSFS foresters and volunteers ultimately construct an interpretive trail at the memorial forest.

“Tom Borden always wanted to see this property used for education and research,” said Mike Hughes, assistant district forester for the Fort Collins District. “The timber frame building at the Borden Memorial Forest will be an important step to increased use of the woodland, and could not happen without the generous contributions from Science Care.”

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