Marcie Cuff has an academic background in studio art, evolutionary biology and animal behavior, and an MA in Secondary Science teaching. Now a nature columnist for a regional newspaper, The Hudson Independent, she has written professionally for most of her life, and runs Mossy, a blog highlighting innovative family projects, hands-on parenting commentary, and related photography, and listed as one of Babble's top 50 Mom Craft Blogs of 2011. She works as a garden coordinator at a local elementary school, and organizes and maintains a community-based vegetable garden.
“Marcie Cuff makes nature even more fun than the way you find it.
This is a book about imagination and creativity—and getting
dirty. The projects in This Book Was a Tree remind me of the
dozens of ways we can all connect with the natural world on a
daily basis. And since Marcie writes from the heart, you
can just feel the satisfaction and even joy you’ll get from
connecting a little bit more with the world around you. She
has ideas that everyone can try alone or with friends or
family. She’s going to make a lot of lives simpler, happier, and
more plugged in to the world that’s all around
us.” —David Yarnold, President and CEO of National Audubon
Society
“It really is good to get dirty, and this is a wonderful guidebook
to exactly how!” —Bill McKibben, author of Wandering Home
“Somewhere, in a book of advice on aging, I read a fine adage: Do
something real every day. That’s good advice for people of
every age. From the title of the book, through all of its
pages of ideas and adventures, Marcie Chambers Cuff helps us
remember what’s real and what makes kids and their families feel
fully alive in a virtual age.” —Richard Louv, author of
Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle
“Whether you live in a twenty-story building in the middle of the
city or on a twenty-acre preserve, this beautifully
illustrated book urges us all to explore the outdoors like
never before. Full of fun, simple ideas and endless
inspiration, Cuff ’s book will help all ages get creative and
get connected—to nature, to the process, and to the world in
which we live.” —Bernadette Noll, author of Slow Family
Living
“A book that wonderfully captures the wandering and wonderment of
my youth—and brings it to life again. Part project, part
prose, what was destined for my eleven-year-old niece in New
England has managed to linger on my desk for too long. I might
even keep it for myself!” —M. Sanjayan, lead scientist at the
Nature Conservancy and TV host
“This book still is a tree: to climb, survey, and touch the simple
wonders of nature. Marcie Chambers Cuff gives us back the
physical world: Most of all, she returns it to our
children.” —Adrian Higgins, garden columnist for the
Washington Post
“This Book Was a Tree is full of sparks to reignite your curiosity
and engagement with the natural world around you.” —Toby
A. Adams, director of the Edible Academy at the New York
Botanical Garden
“If we forget where we came from, we are lost. Marcie’s book offers
a path home and endless opportunities to learn. We love what
we know, so we have to begin with the knowing, and this book
can help you begin. This Book Was a Tree can help anyone begin
to love the natural world around them and want to be part of
it.” —Ellen D. Ketterson, distinguished professor of biology
and executive producer of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco
“If orangutans, Asian elephants, and crows can improvise creative
ways to interact with nature, Marcie Cuff shows us: so can we!
You are very lucky that you have picked up this book. Now go
get your hands dirty and have fun!” —Melanie Choukas-Bradley,
naturalist and author of City of Trees
“Marcie Cuff ’s book is a treasure! Even a diehard nature lover
like me found new inspiration and ideas for getting my kid to
put down the screens and come outside and explore, ask
questions, and get our hands dirty while learning about this
magnificent planet we share. Any parent who is frustrated by
the draw of today’s relentless gadgets should bring this book
home.” —Annie Leonard, author and host of The Story of
Stuff
“This Book Was a Tree is a strong and creative shout-out to all of
us who are artists, teachers, naturalists, parents, and simply
humans. This book begs us to put down our button-pushing
gadgets and challenges us to reconnect to nature through pages
of timeless projects, creative acts, and deep thought. From
guerrilla gardening to pinhole cameras to phenology, Ms. Cuff
covers it all with the expertise of a scientist and a mother.
This is not another book of ‘nature crafts’ you can do with a
paper plate or a corn husk. The introduction alone may
bring you to tears with an urgent message speaking of global
damage, environmental degradation, and ozone depletion. The
author invites us to keep a foot in both worlds knowing that
we can come to our senses through purposeful and
fun exploration of the natural environment around us, no
matter where we live. I applaud This Book Was a Tree for being
a tree first and giving the author the pages to share with us
the most important message of our time.” —Amy Butler, director
of education for the North Branch Nature Center and founder of
ECO (Educating Children Outdoors)
“It becomes obvious early on that writing This Book Was a Tree was
a labor of love for author Marcie Chambers Cuff. The passion
in her words and conviction in her messages are real, and
comforting. Her message is simple: Step away from the A/V
technology of the twenty-first century and go outside
to experience the natural world. Overcome the inertia of home
comforts and go out and get dirty, poke things with a stick
(dead things, which is how all wildlife biologists get their
start), look around, use that acorn between your
shoulders, and become creative, think on your own. This book
is not just for city folk, nor is it just for kids. It’s
something to be shared between parent and child, teacher and
student. It belongs at home and in schools. It’s projects and
adventures to be shared for years and among
generations.” —Michael J. Petrula, research and management
biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of
Wildlife Conservation
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