Category: Blog-Nature’s Wisdom

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Does One Tree Matter?

Flash back to December 31, 2021. My husband and I sitting in the warmth of our home while exploring our giving plan for the upcoming year.

One area of focus always includes the environment. Last year we supported organizations clearing plastic and trash from the ocean (4Ocean), conservation efforts (Ocean Conservancy), and sea mammal rescue and rehabilitation (in honor of our budding Marine Biologist daughter).

With a new focus for the upcoming year, we discovered we couldn’t give up the ocean.

I recently learned it was snowing micro plastics in the arctic. Item by item, I remove single use plastic from my home and life. I continue to pick up trash as I walk in nature. I just ordered laundry sheets to try out instead of the plastic laundry soap jugs being tossed into landfills. Every little step brings me closer to honoring the garden I share with all humans and creatures.

I have a thing for trees. So, we decided to look into planting trees for the New Year. I just calculated our progress six months in. Oh, joy. Read on.

When I walk in the woods, I breathe easier. My whole body relaxes. It’s interesting for someone who only walks on a path and would only camp if hotels disappeared forever. I’m heading to the Redwoods in the Fall as they’ve been calling me for a visit. Can’t wait to walk in that marvel of nature. A sight I’ve only seen in photos.

I’m bothered (sometimes downright hot under the collar) when I think of the French cutting down every damn tree in Haiti.

Leaving that side of the island barren and dry. Another way that other countries have sucked the life out of that country, leaving the beautiful Haitian people in the dust. While the Spanish Dominican Republic is lush and inviting for tourism.

My heart breaks when I witness the destruction of the Amazon jungles.

I have been deeply saddened by the loss of the natural resources and the effect on the ecosystem. So many species, healing plants, and the biodiversity that extends to support the world’s health have been lost over these years.

What brought me to my knees last year was the realization that entire tribes in the Amazon were wiped out.

That’s hard to contemplate. The loss of indigenous tribes living deep within the Amazon dying off as their ecosystem is destroyed so we can have hardwood floors, pencils, and decorative bowls. So much wisdom lost. My brothers and sisters dying and the world barely knew of their existence. Aside from how hot the world is getting, I feel this just highlights how shortsighted we are. How shortsighted I am.

Trees are essential to life.

Nature needs forests and jungles which are shelters of biodiversity for the majority of the world’s plants, animals, insects, fungi, and birds. They provide medicine for the body and the soul (natural medicine, forest bathing for stress reduction) and produce nutrition fruit, nuts, and berries. They clean the air we breathe and are necessary to reduce the CO2 warming the atmosphere.

There were once 6 trillion trees on this beautiful Earth. More than half are now gone and disappearing at a rate of over 10 billion trees a year.

 

3 trillion trees gone so I can enjoy the desk I am writing on and chair I am sitting in.

My husband and I talked about trees. How we love to hike in the woods. The beauty and benefit of forests. The large pine trees we lost in our yard and the massive, ancient tree that fell on my childhood home. The protected space leaving fields and forests standing in New Jersey. How the Amazon is known as the lungs of the planet.

True not true. Wait, what? Turns out the Amazon only produces enough oxygen for its own ecosystem.

Check out the show One Strange Rock on Disney+. The episode highlighting the Amazon. Just when you took nature for granted, She turns you upside down. I won’t spoil anything, but I’ll offer you a hint: cloud river. Oh, joy.

Scientists suggest the cheapest and fastest way to tackle the climate crisis by taking the CO2 out of the atmosphere is to plant a trillion trees.

A trillion trees without encroaching on urban areas or farms. Not all scientists agree with this, but a heck of a lot do. You can do your own research at 1t.org. Looking through the pledges by corporations and large organizations, we knew we couldn’t match that impact of those pledging to plant 1 billion trees, 500 million trees, a million trees.

What can a single family do, we wondered. Now, we know.

Beginning in January, we planted trees for family and friends on their birthday. Or to honor a passing or celebrate an achievement. One Tree Planted allows you to choose where you want to gift your trees for planting.

A buck a tree. Yup, $1 per seedling that will grow up to change the future.

We’ve been planting trees in Haiti to honor our Love Orphanage family and the people of Haiti. We’ve been gifting trees in the Amazon so no other tribes, creatures, or plants are lost. In honor of the Peruvian Wisdom Keepers, the medicine men and women who hold the dream of a thriving garden with people living in harmony, we’ve planted a lot of trees.

Six month in and we’ve planted 1005 trees. All without breaking a sweat or the bank.

Every person seemed thrilled with their trees. Delighted to know their 22, 43, 65, or 79 trees were growing in a country far away from their backyards. I loved the 63 trees I received for my birthday. From Pachamama of course. You can bet I’ll be doing the math on December 31st.

One small action done repeatedly impacts the course of the future. This is true for good or ill.

Seek what bothers you in this world. Put your money, time, or talent in service to any group that offers an inspired solution with integrity and enthusiasm. Or start your own movement.

Every tree matters. Especially to our Mother.

 

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

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Lost in the Woods

 

I’ve recently awakened the desire to go hiking and spend more time exploring the trails in New Jersey and other locations. 

So, my husband downloaded a new app with a wide selection of hiking trails in our area and chose our first 5 mile hike. It was rated “moderate” hiking difficulty which was good for me. I enjoy our walks in nature tremendously, but I was hankering for a little elevation and variation. Since a weekend hike in Rocky Mountain National Park was out, we popped in the car to celebrate Labor Day with an enjoyable walk in the woods. 

I love to explore new places by wandering around without a plan, discovering what is around me. My husband, on the other hand, is a map kind of guy. Or in this case, an app kind of guy.

We arrived at a tiny gravel lot, grabbed our bottles of water, and headed down the deserted path. How could we go wrong? There were white painted trail markers on the trees and we enjoyed being in the shaded woods as a respite from a sunny day with temperatures in the 90s.

It was a delight to be immersed within hundreds of trees with a hint of the stream’s gurgle beyond the ferns. The blue sky and white clouds peeked through the trees as if to check on our progress, yet the rays of the sun were only lightly visible. 

We strolled along as if we were the only people in the world on this path.

Apparently we were, as we didn’t see nor hear anyone for over an hour. There was a peace that descended when we were immersed within the natural sights and sounds of the forest. Even my husband relaxed his noticing of the changing color trail markers and we enjoyed quiet conversation interspersed with long periods of silence. The sight of massive roots of a fallen tree, minnows swimming by the edge of the stream, or a surprising tree of burning orange leaves was good for the soul.

Faced with a fork in the road, we simply went left as the absence of trail markers left us to our own devices.

We spied two deer leaping across the path ahead and disappearing into the dense brush.  It was a delight and we decided it was clearly a sign we were headed in the right direction. This was our first indication that perhaps we weren’t reading the signs correctly – trail signs or nature signs – as we ended up stuck in a field of prickly grasses with nowhere to go. So, we turned around. At the next fork, we got serious about looking for trail signs.

How hard could it be? After all, we were walking on a 5 mile loop. A loop is a circle, or so I thought.

Back on the path, we continued our leisurely hike as my husband called out, “Here comes your elevation! All 124 feet!” Peering around him, I saw a tiny hump in the path. Okay, so we weren’t in the Rocky Mountains. We stopped on a bridge and looked for fish while the trees protected us from the driving sun above. Relaxed and at peace, I was content in our meandering. And then we hit another split in the trail and absence of trail markers. This was beginning to become a theme. 

I didn’t object when he pulled out his app with the GPS. Good news: we were halfway through the loop. I felt a deep love for that stinkin’ app.

I was aware that while I wasn’t tired, I was pretty darn hot. The benches that appeared did not seem appealing for a rest stop. They looked like they had been carved in the 1800s and were covered with elaborate webs. Truth be told, I noticed I was a wee bit wilted on my first hike through this hilly terrain (yes, there were very tiny hills now). And then I saw it: a thin tree had fallen across the path. Unlike the others we had climbed over which had moderate to large trunks, this was a slender tree. The remarkable thing was that it was still growing. Its trunk was bent and the leaves were fluttering in the wind.

I felt an affinity for that little tree who just laid down and took a nap, right in the middle of the path.

 

Soon after this wonderful sight and a few more tiny inclines and declines, we came to another fork in the road. It was confusing, so we got out my favorite app. Turns out it was no help at all and the GPS, which had given us such hope, was suddenly suspect. We were back at a previous choice point and had to either go in an unknown direction which logically took us away from our car or backtrack via a path which meant we had miles to go before we could rest.

As we headed back from whence we came, I was no longer a fan of meandering nor of that silly app. I was also aware that the trail markers, which were absent at the choice point, were now abundantly clear – as if some ranger had gotten paint happy.

“We aren’t out of the woods yet!”  Who knew my husband had such a sense of humor?

Hot as all get out, I took stock and began rationing my water.  Very soon, I realized that getting lost in the woods was detrimental to the annoyed or anxious mind. The surrounding landscape was as calming when we were lost as it had been when we were all gung ho and full of vigor. As we walked, my husband and I began to notice places we had seen before and it became a game of sorts. We even ran across another couple which gave us hope that we would rediscover civilization. Back into our confident meandering, we didn’t feel the need to ask how to get out of the woods. We figured we were on the correct path.

How many detours could there be on a loop anyway? [Two more, but who’s counting?]

Spoiler alert: we made it out of the woods and returned to civilization. None the worse for the wear, we were so busy pulling the sticky leaves from our shoes and clothing that we almost missed the sudden appearance of that other couple. They were calmly strolling up the paved road beyond the gate. Apparently, that “unknown direction” not only led back to the parking lot, but did so in an easy and timely fashion. 

When my husband mentioned that the app had an upgraded version for $2.99/month with more trail details and an improved GPS function, I handed him 3 bucks and told him he was in charge of next week’s location.

And then I took a mini nap on the way home – just like my favorite tree.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions.