Birchbark and Plastic Earrings "Facts of Life" Series

The birchbark harvest happens mostly in the spring when the sap has started flowing through the trees again after resting in the roots for the winter. I carefully cut into the tree only deep enough to pull off a square piece no thicker than 1/8 of an inch and only partially around the trunk in order to preserve the tree's protective layer of inner bark. That way it can recover in good time and won't experience any lasting damage.