MOTHER TREES…

Scientist, Susan Simard enacted a study in which she fed tree’s isotopes and then measured the mycelial and root network of surrounding tree’s to see how they feed each other. What she discovered was astounding. Tree’s really do co-operate as caring, empathic, family units. There are certain tree’s (she refers to them as “Mother Tree’s, we may be used to them being called “old growth tree’s) which are typically bigger and older and literally are the mother and grandmother tree’s of the forest. They feed many tree’s around them, inter-specially and cross species! So, if we can find these Mother Tree’s and feed them with Trace Elements (often in the form of ORMUS and Effective Micro-organisms) we can greatly impact the health of the forest. We can do this both on our private land, and further afield.

Unfortunately due to our impact on our local landscape (culling Beaver, mining, using chemical compounds in the San Luis Valley which blow up in the winds here) the forest is in sever drought. Left alone and un-touched, it would look very different to the fallen tree’s, beetle kill, witches broom and other environmental threats which now invades the health of our local forest systems here in Crestone CO and in the surrounding area. We are in a process of desertification here, and alongside our current mitigation efforts, we also need to step in as stewards and help to repair the damage our forefathers have done to help us better protect against drought which is a part of the climate we can’t currently control.

By feeding the Mother Tree’s, in partnership with restoring riparian habitat with Beaver Dam Analogues and eventually with Beaver and other restoration practices where possible, we can integrate a long term plan to make our beautiful local area more resilient towards wild fires and drought.

More fun facts about Trees…

Hugging trees is a great way to increase levels of oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine. These are the hormones responsible for feeling calm, emotional bonding and feeling happier. Sometimes commonly referred to as the “love” hormones. It is also very grounding (even more so if barefoot). The chemical compounds tree’s emit through the air called terpenes are also very healing to our physical bodies. They help repair our nervous systems!

As well as the multitude of healing benefits we gain from a walk in the woods or sitting by our favorite tree, one thing we humans forget about sometimes is the experience of the trees themselves.

As mentioned above, ecologists have discovered that tree’s, like all living things, have feelings. They also have memories. And as well as the ability to viscerally feel, the sensations of taste, touch, smell and hearing. They have families that they take very good care of. Certain pairs of trees that grow next to each other become friends, and if you cut one down, the other will die. They talk with each other all day long through the mycelial network that is connected to their roots. They feed each other, warn each other about predators (beetle’s etc), send extra energy to the weaker tree’s in the forest…sometimes even to stumps that have been cut down for hundreds of years!

In “The Hidden Life of Trees”, author Peter Wohlleben talks about a tree stump that was fed nutrients by it’s surrounding family members for 500 years. There is no “logical” reason for this.

It would suggest, they grieve.

It would also suggest, they love.

So, evidence suggests tree’s feel, and tree’s love and we all know that tree’s give so many varieties of food and medicine to us and many other life-forms on this planet. Not to mention their insurmountable contribution to the very oxygen we breathe.

So don't be shy, go hug a tree! Cultivating a relationship with the nature around us is essential to our well being, and they feel our love! Or at least go sit under a tree ….or walk by them, appreciating them as you go.