What Oily Hands Can Make With Little Scraps of Bark

Published April 9th, 2019
By Sarah Nason, Finance & Operations Director

I’m the Finance and Operations Director at Wild Earth. I’m not the one splashing around in the mud or working on friction fire or building shelters in the woods. I’m the one behind the scenes, making sure our staff get paid, our families feel supported, and just about everything in between.

Since I’m usually in the office instead of in the field, every opportunity I have to get my hands involved in making something with Wild Earth is special.

I recently participated in a birch bark basket class with Wild Earth guest instructor, Nick Neddo. I’ve been fascinated with birch bark baskets ever since I received one as a gift over 20 years ago, and this was my chance to make a basket for the very first time.

The History Of Birch Bark Basketry

Nick talked to us about the history of birch bark basketry, and how the antibacterial and antimicrobial properties of birch make it a perfect material for storing foods.

In areas like North America and China, the bark was mainly used in sheets, while Russia, Finland, and Scandinavia used weaving techniques like plaiting, which is what we would be learning.

I got chills when I heard this.

My heritage is Danish and Russian, and the thought of making something that my ancestors might have made was incredible.

Making A Basket

We each picked out sheets of birch bark, and measured and cut the bark into strips. Then we delicately peeled the layers from each strip, trimming and oiling each one to make them easier to weave.

Each strip of bark varied in color, from white to reddish brown to grey to pale pink and even the lightest green.

The whole process was incredibly labor intensive and, as Nick had promised, we had moments when we thought our basket would never come together and we’d want to throw it out the window.

Each step offered a learning lesson, and every student took the time to help others when we needed it and offer words of encouragement along the way.

After of a full day of hard work, with oily hands and little scraps of bark covering everything in sight, each of us had crafted our own beautiful, perfectly imperfect birch bark basket.

I want to offer thanks to Nick for sharing his knowledge and decades of experience with us.

If you ever have a chance to take one of his classes, please do!

And I’m grateful for my ancestors, who I can imagine smiling and laughing at my little birch bark basket.