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Earth Matters : Wood sounds good: Reclaiming trees and ties to our land

by Christine Hatch

If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Well, it most certainly can! Local luthier, inventor, and teacher John Fabel has been making instruments out of the finest fallen trees for years now, giving new meaning to “made local”. I spent 16 months apprenticing with John as part of a community instrument-making endeavor, during which time I produced possibly the first ever ukulele to be made of Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana). I also learned a lot about John’s reverence for trees, community, and structural biomaterials throughout the process and the interview I conducted for this article.