By Ellis Giacomelli
On a quiet afternoon, Carmen Testi planted young trees. He worked for hours, trying to build new life on his new land, pausing only to reorganize the plans in his head or to smile at his then-girlfriend, Kathy, who was crocheting in his pick-up truck.
A small hickory had an unfortunate injury, a split down its center, and Kathy offered to mend it.
“We used the yarn to wrap around it, to heal it, because he didn’t have rags or tools with him,” Kathy Testi said. “He said ‘That’s when I knew you were the one.’”
Carmen was 24 years old when he first purchased a parcel of North East, Pennsylvania property: 17 acres in 1981, seven acres in 1986, nine in 1996 and 17 more in 2006.
Carmen and Kathy now live on the 50 acres, but their journey with the land has been long and laborious.
John Testi of Harborcreek, Carmen’s father, introduced his children to forestry through his own part-time logging work, selling to Hammermill Paper in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Carmen loved the outdoors as a child and young adult and knew he wanted to own land as an adult.
When he found the North East property, it was littered with farm equipment, industrial waste, car parts, tires, a trailer, an old house and an old barn. He had work to do.
Carmen spent a year doing initial clean-up work, and a large field in the back of the property had begun to regenerate into a woodlot, so he wanted to plant young trees there.
Carmen gathered acorns from Lawrence Park, hickory nuts in Waterford and black walnuts from his father, and he grew 600 trees.
He then transplanted them into the open field and began a confrontation with local deer. Because Carmen could not afford fencing to prevent deer from damaging the juvenile woodlot, he used several odorous materials to detract deer from the property
“Deer have a wonderful ability to get used to things,” Carmen said. “So once they get used to a smell, you have to introduce a different smell.”
Trees were adorned with ornament-like rags soaked in oil or diesel fuel, Irish Spring soaps or perfumes.
“That’s how I got rid of all my bottles of old stinky perfume,” Kathy said.
Carmen persisted in these detraction efforts and was successful in bringing the field to life, and the former field eventually required thinning.
Carmen was a truck mechanic for 42 years, and according to Kathy, can fix almost anything. He has demonstrated an incredible dedication to managing deer and invasive species and has worked for nearly 40 years to ensure a new legacy for the once deteriorating land.
Carmen and Kathy use what they learn from conservation magazine articles, other landowners and Foundation events to increase their understanding of timber stand improvement and sustainable principles.
“I was really glad we got the opportunity to be introduced to the Foundation for Sustainable Forests because we don’t have any children, and I don’t know if we had any children if they would appreciate it anyway,” Carmen said.
Carmen and Kathy have lived on the property since 1993-- in a barn-style structure they built-- and hope to leave the 50 acres with the Foundation.
Their interest in Foundation values continues to grow as they spend time with other landowners and develop new local relationships.
“The story is about when we get together with all of those landowners, and we share stories and what we’ve tried-- our failures and our accomplishments and our common goal,” Carmen said. “That’s the most important thing.”
For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Foundation For Sustainable Forests website. Click Here to support their work. Loving The Land Through Working Forests Conference May 11, 2019.
(Reprinted from the Fall/Winter newsletter of the Foundation For Sustainable Forests. Contributed to the newsletter by Carmen & Kathy Testi.)
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