Democracy Of Trees: What The Forest Can Teach Us About Community Health

Trees care for each other in very special ways. They have family relationships. Sometimes, the offspring of a felled tree will continue to keep the parental stump alive with its roots, even for centuries. There are bonds beyond family as well. For instance, Fir trees and Birch trees take turns supporting the other in winter and summer. Nutrients and information are shared underground via root systems and the mycorrhizal network of fungi. This is evidence for the importance of biodiversity.The poet John Donne wrote, "No man is an island... and any man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind." Trees seem to live this wisdom and understand on some level that every tree matters to the well-being of the whole forest. If even one tree is destroyed, the eco-system becomes comprised, the canopy has a hole and the micro-climate shifts in temperature and moisture jeopardizing the health of all trees. Therefore, they employ unique mechanisms to protect the community. In this episode, Todd explores the philosophy, mythology and ecology of the forest world and how it relates to human potential."Trees are poems that the Earth writes upon the sky." -Khalil Gibran(Intro by E. Fink and song "Morning Walk" by Lee Rosevere)Learn more at: http://www.michaeltoddfink.com