Trees and Forests

🔥 Lottery: Aug 27–Sept 2 • Full registration: Aug 28
Dates: October 14 - November 4, 2025
Meets: Tu from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
 Location: Bozeman, MT - Hope Lutheran Church
Cost:  $50.00

There are still openings remaining at this time.

Date Day Time
10/14/2025Tuesday1 PM to 3 PM
10/21/2025Tuesday1 PM to 3 PM
10/28/2025Tuesday1 PM to 3 PM
11/04/2025Tuesday1 PM to 3 PM

OR

Please note: This course program requires membership in a 2025-2026 OLLI at MSU Membership

Description

In this course, we will address the following topics. How do trees reproduce, grow, and make wood and bark? How are they able to get so large? How do trees sense and react to their environment - light, temperature, predators, helpful organisms? What useful products and services do we get from trees? Do trees "talk" to each other? What is the relationship between trees and fires? What activities related to climate change involve trees? And what are the different kinds of forests in Montana and the West? This is not a course in forest management. Instead, it is a look at tree biology and forest ecology.

Course Takeaways

Participants can walk through or drive by a forest and appreciate the system's complexity, both the visible above-ground and the invisible below-ground. Understanding how trees grow is helpful for homeowners who landscape with trees. And not all trees with needles are pines.

Scholarship

Apply for a needs-based scholarship to take this offering.

Fee:  $50.00

Bozeman, MT - Hope Lutheran Church

2152 Graf St
Bozeman, MT 59718
View the location on a map.

Sharon Eversman

Sharon Eversman received an undergraduate degree in general science teaching from the University of Iowa and spent four years teaching middle school biology and earth science in Colorado. After moving to Bozeman, she completed master's and Ph.D. degrees in plant ecology from Montana State University and Arizona State University, respectively. She taught biology and botany at MSU for nearly 40 years. She has remained actively involved in science projects as a member of the Montana Native Plant Society and docent at the Museum of the Rockies, in addition to teaching and taking courses in the OLLI program.
Date Day Time Location
10/14/2025Tuesday1 PM to 3 PM Bozeman, MT - Hope Lutheran Church
10/21/2025Tuesday1 PM to 3 PM Bozeman, MT - Hope Lutheran Church
10/28/2025Tuesday1 PM to 3 PM Bozeman, MT - Hope Lutheran Church
11/04/2025Tuesday1 PM to 3 PM Bozeman, MT - Hope Lutheran Church