Hello there friend,
Some days, I yearn to walk through
the redwood forest near my home, to relax
in the serene majesty of the ancient trees
and plant life. The peaceful stillness I
feel here belies the vitality and
complexity of the living forest. In recent
years, the work of the world’s
leading forest ecologist, Suzanne Simard,
has taught us that forests are not just
random groupings of beautiful and useful
plants but rather a sophisticated,
conscious community.
“Finding the Mother Tree:
Discovering the Wisdom of the
Forest,” the newly published book
by Suzanne Simard, shows us how trees,
living side by side for hundreds of years,
have evolved, how they perceive one
another, learn and adapt their behaviors,
recognize neighbors, and remember the past;
how they have agency about the future;
elicit warnings and mount defenses, compete
and cooperate with one another with
sophistication. These are characteristics
ascribed to human intelligence, traits that
are the essence of civil societies. And at
the center of it all are the Mother Trees:
the mysterious, powerful forces that
connect and sustain the others that
surround them.
