Aug 6, 2025
Josh Traub is a grandfather who grew up in West Marin surrounded by one of Earth's greatest creations: trees. At age five he recalls his first introduction to what it meant for a tree to belong to a forest community.
As Josh grew from boy to man, he deepened his relationship with the
trees of Marin: the old-growth Coastal Redwoods of Roy's Redwoods,
the sprawling Valley Oaks of San Geronimo Valley, and the thousands
of second-growth Redwoods in Samuel P. Taylor Park. Working his
first job on a trail crew at Point Reyes National Seashore, he met
ancient California Bay Laurels, sacred Elderberry trees, and
streamside Willows that welcomed spawning salmon home.
Josh joined the ranks of tree care professionals, learning to climb
150-foot Blue Gum Eucalyptus with chainsaws and arm-thick
ropes—dangerous work that sometimes claimed lives. He mastered the
gentler craft of pruning American Elms along Ross's Shady Lane,
only to witness their demise from Dutch Elm disease. Later, he
observed the emergence of Sudden Oak Death threatening California
Tan Oaks—possibly another species extinction event.
Transitioning from the woods to farming, Josh raised his two
daughters while working an organic farm at the base of Mount
Barnabe. He became a school gardener, planting his first tree—a
California Buckeye—alongside elementary students. Eventually moving
into carpentry to support his growing teenage daughters, Josh
discovered an intimate new relationship with trees through wood
itself: milling Monterey Cypress, harvesting Bishop Pine logs,
building with old-growth timbers that revealed wood's exquisite
beauty.
Though carpentry provided good livelihood, Josh carried an
unrealized dream that would eventually call him toward his next
chapter.
To learn more about Tamara's work: https://tamarawolfson.com