The last book has turned out to be a must-read! "Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests" by Diana Beresford-Kroeger ticks all of the boxes and then some! I learned something from each page.
I have read countless nature-oriented books, including most of the books by Peter Wohlleben: "The Hidden Life of Trees", "The Inner Life of Animals", "The Weather Detective", "The Secret Wisdom of Nature", "The Heartbeat of Trees" and "The Power of Trees". That is a considerable amount of reading about nature and forests. Surprisingly, "Our Green Heart" provided many gems I had not yet discovered!
Diana Beresford-Kroeger even touches on quantum mechanics. Quantum lifting is mentioned on Page 65, describing how photons interact with chlorophyll in photosynthesis! Amazing.
Here are just a few more of my favourites...
On page 88 Diana describes the photoactivity of leaf mould explaining the lack of snow under a tree in the winter. I had incorrectly attributed that observation to the boughs of the trees.
The decimation of insects and their absence on the windshields of cars is found on page 111. The increase in the 2.5-micron pollution index is associated with the increase in atmospheric carbon. The pollution coats flowers preventing insects from feeding on the sugars the plants use as enticement. Both the flowers and the bugs suffer.
Page 142 mentions how Ireland, New Zealand, Canada and Ecuador are giving legal rights and status as persons to the forests and rivers. This is something that Brehon laws embraced long before the British Empire and the Magna Carta. The entire world needs to adopt this approach - sooner than later!
Page 149 describes the ancient frozen carbon under the Arctic and the Boreal forest amounting "to approximately three times the tonnage of carbon in the atmosphere.... a sleeping time bomb".
Page 150 describes "the enormous spring flush of aromatic aerosols (that) ends in a global plume of airborne medicine." It is healthy to enjoyyour time in the forest.
Page 140 holds a gem when Diana describes her "good friend, the late Harvard professor E.O. Wilson ... (describing) the present time as full of people with Stone Age emotions working in medieval institutions and thinking and acting from a belief in their own godlike prowess." Amen.
The last paragraph on page 192 ends with a prayer: "The global forest represents peace and love to all nations. It represents the first gift of life at birth, that single new breath. A beginning."
I plant trees … exactly as Diana suggests several times in the passages of "Our Green Heart" but even there, I learned some tricks. Baking soda can hide the scent of freshly planted nuts to discourage squirrels from feasting on your efforts. I will certainly give baking soda a try.
It is important to be an eternal student. I was nurturing a shagbark hickory that I planted from a nut. I was out walking and discovered a porcupine chewing that sapling right to the ground. The meal was much enjoyed. I will have to up my game and include wire fencing until the trees are larger.
If only politicians and leaders would read "Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests" and act accordingly. A green, circular economy in which the value of nature and the environment must be explicitly included in the financial system of the world. This book is a terrific read and full of wisdom addressing climate change from the grassroots.
As an atmospheric scientist, I have been giving presentations on climate change and the web of life and nature since the 1980s. Sadly, the time for meaningful climate action is past, but there must always be hope. Diana Beresford-Kroeger remains positive about the future. Thank you, Diana.
Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,
Phil Chadwick
