A typical Valentine’s Day is associated with chocolate, flowers, and cards. After attending a special Feb. 14 workshop at MacLeish Field Station, 11 Smith College students now have something new to associate with the holiday: chain saws.

Attended by MacLeish interns, students in microbiology and natural resource management classes, and others, the workshop demystified how to safely operate what, to many, is a particularly frightening tool (there’s a reason it’s called The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, after all). 

“It’s a tool, so on one level, it’s practical, but it’s also incredibly dangerous,” says Paul Wetzel, field station manager at MacLeish. “You have to be conscious of those dangers and train through them. It’s sort of like driving a car.”

Getting students to feel comfortable with a chain saw  was the main focus of the workshop, which was led by husband and wife team Beth Brantley and Craig Houghton of Bartlett Tree Experts. “Teaching about this potentially dangerous tool and how to use it safely were the primary goals,” says Houghton, who recently retired from teaching forestry and arboriculture at Penn State Mont Alto, “but we also wanted them to build confidence in their abilities, try something new, and overcome any initial fears.”

After an extensive walk through of personal protective equipment and the mechanics of the chain saw, it was time for the students to put their newfound skills to the test. Their bright orange and yellow safety gear contrasted sharply with snow blanketing the ground as they trekked to a cluster of chestnut trees. The trees had succumbed to a fungus known as chestnut blight, making them good practice specimens for the rookie tree fellers. After a few careful tugs of the chain saw starters, the Smithies transformed the trees into several lengths of firewood. 

“There was a visible shift in [the students] as they learned how to use such a powerful tool,” says Becca Malloy, assistant director of sustainability at the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design & Sustainability (CEEDS). “At first, it’s super intimidating, but it opens up a level of confidence and attunement to how they’re impacting the world around them. It’s visibly empowering and so exciting.”

Brantley agrees, saying, “My favorite part of the day was working with a student who overcame their fear and said this was the most exciting thing they had ever done.”

MacLeish intern Bridget Mousaw ’28 had been eagerly awaiting the workshop and says it surpassed any expectations. “The moment you get a chain saw to start is pretty exciting [along with] being out in the snow and making firewood, especially knowing that it would be used for future MacLeish events.”

The workshop isn’t the first time Smithies have taken action to “reclaim” an activity or skill that’s not typically associated with women or gender expansive individuals. Last year, nine students participated in a woodworking master class led by Robin Macgregor Nolan ’00. While there is interest in and enthusiasm for another workshop, Malloy and the rest of the CEEDS team are cognizant of the fact that high-touch trainings must be kept small in order to keep everyone safe.

“There are days where it can feel lonely being a female arborist,” says Cassandra Madru of Bartlett Tree Experts, who assisted students with the workshop. “But today, I had the opportunity to be surrounded by an overall nontraditional group of people interested in chain saws! I hope everyone felt that sense of community as well.”