Sunday, August 31, 2008 12:04 AM CDT

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Artists find way to give trees new life

By Scott Richardson
srichardson@pantagraph.com

LISLE -- Waste not, want not could be the theme of an exhibit that shows how ash trees destroyed by emerald ash borers can be made into beautiful, functional furniture.

Officials say more than 20 million ash trees are dead or dying since the emerald ash borer was first discovered in the Midwest in 2002.

The insect made its way to northern Illinois in 2006 and recently to McLean County. Though it flies only a short distance, officials think its movements are more likely related to violations on bans to stop people from transporting firewood from one area to another. For example, Illinois has an embargo on moving firewood from quarantined regions. Algonquin is the latest Chicago-area suburb to find the bug.

State law requires removal of infected trees. Most get tossed in a chipper. But furniture designers have put some of it to use. Their work is featured in a traveling exhibit, "Rising from Ashes: Furniture from Lost Trees" that will be displayed at The Morton Arboretum through Sept. 7.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture describes the emerald ash borer as a small, metallic-green beetle native to Asia. Its destructive nature comes from the fact its larvae burrow into the bark of ash trees. Eventually, the trees starve and die. The situation could worsen. Ash trees make up about one of every five trees in Chicago. Estimates place the number of ash trees in Illinois at more than 130 million.

The exhibition is a joint venture of the Arboretum and the Chicago Furniture Designers Association. The sponsors hope to "emphasize the value of urban forests and the destructive effects of EAB," they said. Too often, the value of urban trees is ignored, they said. Citing the U.S. Forest Service, organizers said dead, damaged, diseased or otherwise unwanted urban trees could supply nearly a quarter of the annual hardwood consumed in America. If they were reclaimed, they could reduce the need to remove perfectly healthy trees for lumber.

The exhibit features about 30 pieces of furniture which CFDA members made from ash wood felled due to EAB infestation. The goal is to present information on the bug and the steps taken to process ash trees into lumber and to make it into furniture.

Organizers said trees that can't be used for lumber have other uses -- such as being burned for heat, to generate electricity or as mulch or wood chips.

"I hope people come away from the show with the knowledge that the tree in their yard is not really dead after it dies -- it can have life again as something new. We think of urban trees as a nuisance when they die. That is short-sighted," said Dolly Spragins, co-chairwoman of the furniture show.

The Morton Arboretum has 1,700 acres featuring collections of 4,117 kinds of trees, shrubs and other plants from around the world. It is located at Interstate 88 and Illinois 53 in Lisle.

The Arboretum is open year-round from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or sunset, whichever is earlier. Visit www.mortonarb.org or call (630) 968-0074 to learn more.

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