Life is made of community: Lessons from trees in cities and forests with David Haskell

David Haskell spent several years listening to the stories of trees in forests, cities, and coasts. At each, he explored the many interconnections that give us all life. It is these connections that David speaks about in this talk. In the lives of trees, we see that living beings are made not from "selves" but from networked relationships. Trees, therefore, tells us both about the fascinating stories of particular places and about the processes that unite all of life on the planet."He thinks like a biologist, writes like a poet, and gives the natural world the kind of open-minded attention one expects from a Zen monk rather than a hypothesis-driven scientist." --A profile of David Haskell by James Gorman in The New York Times.  David Haskell’s work integrates scientific, literary, and contemplative studies of the natural world. His book, The Forest Unseen, was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction and recipient of numerous honors including the National Academies’ Best Book Award for 2013. The book has been translated into ten languages. Haskell’s second book, The Songs of Trees, examines biological networks through the lives of a dozen trees around the world. The book was the winner of the 2018 John Burroughs Medal, named one of the Best Science Books of 2017 by NPR’s Science Friday, selected as Favorite Science Books of 2017 by Brain Pickings, and in the 10 Best Environment, Climate Science and Conservation Books of 2017 at Forbes.com. Haskell received his BA from the University of Oxford and Ph.D. from Cornell University. He is a professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, and is a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He serves on the boards and advisory committees of local and national land conservation groups. Haskell’s classes have received national attention for the innovative ways they combine action in the community with contemplative practice. In 2009, the Carnegie and CASE Foundations named him Professor of the Year for Tennessee. In addition to his books, he has published scientific papers, essays, poems, and op-eds.To learn more about David visit his website or follow him on Twitter (@DGHaskell), Facebook, or Instagram.Support the show