Bark, buds, branching clues to look for in winter tree ID’ing

Although the wind was a bit brisk and cool along the lakeshore Saturday afternoon, it didn’t stop a group of curious nature enthusiasts from learning how to identify trees during wintertime by attending a program hosted at Ludington State Park.

The program, with Ludington State Park Interpreter Brandon Griffith as instructor, not only offered some basic techniques for learning how to identify trees, but also how attaining this knowledge is relevant to learning more about the land with its strengths and weaknesses and how this can impact people and wildlife.

Although many trees lose their leaves as colder months approach, Griffith explained and demonstrated how trees can still be identified in the wintertime by examining the bark, buds and branching of a silver maple, white cedar, hemlock