<div>I am Casey Clapp, the tree guy from <a href="https://www.alieward.com/ologies/dendrology2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ologies</a> , <a href="https://arbortrarypod.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Completely Arbortrary</a> , and the rest of the internet. I wrote a tree identification book called <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228536576-the-trees-around-you?from_search=true&amp;from_srp=true&amp;qid=eXmjgoXtpn&amp;rank=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Trees Around You</a> in 2024, and now I'm going out on the road to embark on my most ambitious project so far: <strong>I'm going to find every species of conifer in the US</strong>.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>All in one year.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/98796555_176883958637694_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>The plan is simple:</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li>Pack up my worldly possessions (read: books) into the back of my truck (a 2011 Toyota Tacoma)
</li>
<li>Go find every conifer in the United States—<strong>all 111 species</strong>—where they grow natively
</li>
<li>Do this in one year
</li>
<li>Take you with me every step of the way
</li>
<li>Write my next book (!)
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Executing the plan will be the hard part, and that's why I need your help</strong>.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>As anyone who has listened to <em>Completely Arbortrary</em> or read <em>The Trees Around You</em> could tell you, I love conifers. So, borne out of a desire to go see these trees and explore their environments, I hatched a scheme to document them and turn that into a photographic survey of each species. In other words, <strong>I'm building a photography book focused exclusively on North American conifers</strong>, leaving no species behind.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>And (because I just can't help myself) I wouldn't be surprised if a second identification guide for American conifers hit the shelves when all is said and done....
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/98796555_1768839811998700_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Now, as far as I can tell, nothing like this has been done before on a national scale—certainly not in a single year and not in the Age of the Internet, either, which opens up a unique opportunity: <strong>I'll be sharing this journey with all of you, every step of the way</strong>.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li><strong>I'll be writing, filming, and editing a video series covering each species</strong>—where they live, how they live, and the journey I took to get there
</li>
<li><strong>I'll be writing articles and essays</strong> on each species and the whole project, sharing with you my successes and my trials, but also stories of the forests, mountains, and deserts where they live
</li>
<li><strong>I'll be taking what will surely be thousands of photos</strong> to share and collecting the best of them into a book showcasing the unique qualities of these trees—their bark, their cones, their most charismatic individuals—to be edited and released after my year on the road
</li>
<li><strong>I'll be writing, filming, and editing a full-length documentary</strong> about my trip and the unique trees, people, and places I come across
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I'll also be working on a few other side-projects while I'm out there, and a few of those will be released exclusively to my supporters—maybe an <strong>extra book on broadleaf trees</strong>? Maybe a <strong>manifesto on the socialist agenda</strong> of trees? Who knows....
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/98796555_1768840039416536_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Why?</strong>
</div>
<div>Counted among their numbers are the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_(tree)" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tallest</a> , <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Sherman_Tree" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">largest</a> , and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_longaeva" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oldest</a> trees in the world, and several are considered the <a href="https://www.conifers.org/pi/Abies_bracteata.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rarest</a> of their type or are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_albicaulis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">threated</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torreya_taxifolia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">endangered</a> in their native habitats. My aim is to not only to connect with these trees myself, but extend that connection to all of you, as well. Just like on <strong><em>Completely Arbortrary</em></strong>, I want to showcase not only their beauty and nuance but also tell their complex stories and bring awareness to their struggles and hardships.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>This will be a lot of work</strong>
</div>
<div>There's no way around it: if I want to succeed in this project, I'll need your help. I'll be doing this all on my own, from researching and writing to scouting, filming, and editing. Aside from backers like you, I'll be entirely self-supported on the road for a whole year. Here are a few of the costs I'll need to take on:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<ul>
<li><strong>The Truck:</strong> I'll be outfitting it as home, office, transport, and refuge: though I'll be doing much of the work myself, like the carpentry and sewing, I'll need to buy plenty of parts and gear to make it livable, like a roof rack, rain awning, electrical storage, etc.
</li>
<li><strong>The Gear</strong>: This won't be some camera phone malarky, so I need to up my camera game and invest in lenses, lighting, and general photography gear to not only take the best shots, but hike it all out there too: rain-proof bags, umbrellas, tripods, microphones, etc.
</li>
<li><strong>The Tech</strong>: The internet is an important aspect of this project, so I'll need the gear to stay connected, safe, and backed up like mapping software, editing software, connectivity hardware, and online storage
</li>
<li><strong>Life</strong>: There's no free lunch, and there's certainly no free gasoline, and this is where help will be felt most intensely: this will be my full focus for a year, which means I'll need help covering costs ranging from food and gas to entrance fees, maintenance, and probably an Airbnb every now and then to shower
</li>
</ul>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Your support here will be the most impactful </strong>because it'll help cover my start-up costs and if we hit the fully-funded goal, the whole trip!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>That won't go unseen</strong>.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I am beyond excited for this new adventure, and I am beyond excited to connect with each of you as this whole thing gets started. Over the first few months of 2026 I'll be finalizing my preparations and dialing in the last details. I'll be sharing some early design ideas with you to get the stoke level rising, so tell your friends, share this around, and let me know what you think.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>All my love to you all,
</div>
<div>Casey
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/98796555_1768928808698500_r." width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>

Molly A Petzl

Anonymous

Adam Nelson

Donna Herzfeldt-Kamprath

Gabriel J Popkin

Garrett Persinger

Janet Flemer

Rik Smith

Nathan Pedersen

Year of the Cone

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Test campaigns

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Just $510$ to go! Make an impact.

Year of the Cone

Just $510 to go!
Make an impact.