The Hidden Life of Trees – Illustrated Edition – by Peter Wohlleben, Greystone Books, 2016

Lessons from Plants – by Beronda Montgomery, Harvard University Press, 2021

This is my first contribution to our newsletter/blog.  I have been a facilitator for Gaia College for the past several years, undertaking Business Skills for Land Care Professionals, Ecological Plant Knowledge 1 – Natives, and Ecological Plant Knowledge 2 – Ornamentals.  Reading is my favourite sedentary hobby, a habit started in my elementary school days, when the library became my go-to sanctuary on indoor recess days.

A recent trip to my local library to meet with a friend turned into the three-week acquisition of a couple of interesting-looking plant books.  Reading about plants, trees and ecosystems tops my list for literary enjoyment.

The first tome, a large hardcover plentifully populated with stunning photographs, was Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees. The author describes his journey from relative indifference towards these giant static creatures to a place of awe, kinship and ultimately championing their preservation and well-being.  He goes into detail about the factors that influence a tree throughout its lifecyle, how and why trees interact with each other and different species of flora and fauna, and how complex and sophisticated these creatures actually are compared to popular assumption.  The next time you are in the presence of a massive organism that is hundreds of (perhaps a thousand) years old, stop to bask in its presence, and offer it a blessing.

Beronda Montgomery, author of Lessons From Plants and a Foundation Professor at Michigan State University, draws eloquent parallels between the behaviours of plants and how adopting these would serve humans well.  She discusses collaboration for sharing of space and resources, the contribution of different species to benefit a community as a whole (biodiversity), resilience and strategy in the face of adversity such as limited nutrients or disturbances like fire and floods, and how pioneers pave the way for later populations to establish (succession).  The societal role of leaders is ideally likened to stewardship and “groundskeeping”, rather than “gatekeeping”, and if humans treated each other with the attitude of improving the environment so that all could thrive – the way a gardener tends their plants – our species would be healthier in every way.

For future literary explorations, I have added my name to the (long) list of library members waiting for their turn to borrow a copy of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass:  Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.  I have also just received my Amazon order of Nature’s Best Hope, authored by Dr. Douglas Tallamy, which will be a great follow-up to his text, Bringing Nature Home, currently part of the reading list for our course, Ecological Plant Knowledge 1 – Natives.  

I find that when travel and work remove me from actually being in Nature, having the opportunity to broaden my knowledge by immersing myself in a good book, is deeply satisfying and inspires me to learn more.  If any of you have read an excellent book on plants or ecosystems recently and would care to share, please post this in our Community Forum.  We’re always happy to receive reading recommendations.  And now, on to my next dream project:  starting a monthly book club on this topic!

By Laurie Smith