Friends of Pando
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Programs
Educating the Public
Friends of Pando Workshops
Workshops form the core of our efforts to educate the public about the Pando. Since December 2019, we have delivered virtual workshops and monthly calls to colleges and the public. If you would like to host a workshop, let us know via our Contact Us Page.
Friends of Pando Website
As the world’s largest tree, Pando is the subject of countless international headlines every year and frequently cited in popular science books about trees. Although this activity promotes awareness about the tree, they often feature false or speculative claims about Pando that have no basis in science. The Friends of Pando website aims to provide an open information hub where the public and those who study and care for the tree can find up-to-date, science-backed information about the tree, share their experiences and learn about opportunities to take action.
@iamthepandotree
In March of 2021, Pando will become the largest tree on the internet with its own Twitter account. Working to serve in the void between traditional government communications and the slower pace of scientific publishing, @iamthepando tree will provide a regular feed of facts, images, insights and inspiration to those seeking a more social relationship with the tree.
Supporting Research
Pando Science Committee
Despite being the world’s largest tree, we know very little about Pando. Whether it is the atmosphere above or the ground below, very little is known about this unique natural wonder. In 2022, Friends of Pando will bring together scientists from the worlds of Chemistry, Botany, Geology, Biology, Ecology, GIS, Land Management and Recreational Sciences to produce the “Pando Priority” paper. A collaborative scientific document establishing the rationale for broad, interdisciplinary study of this natural wonder connecting organizations who want to act, with teams ready to undertake baseline studies to understand the tree in peer reviewed papers.
In the Footprint of the Giant (Study on Human Uses)
The US Forest Service estimates that the Fishlake Basin, where Pando lives, receives 300,000 visitors each year. Despite knowing that, we do not know how many people walk Pando’s marked or unmarked trails each year. Working with local students and community volunteers, in 2022, Friends of Pando will work to establish trail monitoring stations to record data on human usage. A record we will make available to the public to help inform policy decisions to ensure the tree can be enjoyed for generations to come.
Pando Photographic Survey
Today, we do not have a complete photographic record of Pando, a vital document scientists and land managers need to understand Pando’s overall health and serve as a reference to monitor changes in the tree over time. In Summer of 2021, Friends of Pando undertook the effort to complete the first photographic survey of the world’s largest tree recording images and location data for 8,700 locations of the tree’s 106 acre land mass. Work is underway to process this record and make it freely available so that scientists can study the tree wherever they are in the world.
Inspiring Stewardship
Kids for Pando
In Fall of 2021, Friends of Pando will launch educational workshops geared toward K-12 students inviting teachers, community leaders, students and their families to learn about the tree and take part in a letter writing program to appeal to Utah leaders to name Pando the official tree of Utah. An effort that will not only raise awareness about Pando, but also inspire the next generation of scientists and promote stewardship.
Pando Artist in Residency Program
Today, in this time we are just coming to know about Pando, lack, a cultural and aesthetic record of the tree. In Spring of 2022, Friends of Pando will reveal a pilot program to establish an artist-in-residency program. A program that will invite storytellers, visual artists, documentary artists, multimedia artists and those working on emergent research and story telling methods to record the tree in all the seasons of its life while living and working in the land Pando calls home.
“Pando: The World’s Tree” A Virtual Land Art Installation
Pando’s enormous scale and remote location make it a challenging subject to document, comprehend and fully appreciate – even for those who study and work to protect the tree. In order to promote awareness about the tree and to help people appreciate its scale and the challenges ahead, Lead Photographer of the Pando Photographic Survey, Lance Oditt and Senior Photographers J Brunner and Janis Connell and Science Advisor Ryan Thalman, are working to take Pando to the world creating a unique virtual land art exhibit where people can hike Pando’s expanse while they learn about the tree.
Friends of Pando is a not-for-profit organization operating under fiscal sponsorship of Snow College via in kind donations.
To learn more about how you can support our work, visit the About Us Page.
