My name is growing all the time, and I’ve lived a very long, long time; so my name is like a story. Real names tell you the story of the things they belong to in my language, in the Old Entish as you might say. It is a lovely language, but it takes a very long time to say anything in it, because we do not say anything in it, unless it is worth taking a long time to say, and to listen to.
✵ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers
The Global Tree Lovers and the Global Tree Network, together with Music of the Plants, will join forces on May 14-15, 2022 in a Global Tree Orienting Weekend (GTOW) to strengthen the alliance between trees and humanity. On that weekend, people all over the world will go out to their local parks, forests and neighborhoods to consciously and intentionally support the tree world by orienting trees using Damanhur tree orienting devices.
We intend that this effort will send a renewed and reinvigorated message to tree beings that humanity is actively working toward recreating a balance between humans and the Plant Kingdom. We intend that this project will boost creating a new level of consciousness in trees which in turn will assist humanity to create peace, respect and harmony between people and the natural world.
The goals of Global Tree Orienting Weekend
How Tree Orienting Works
Trees are oriented using a specially designed pendulum developed in Damanhur, a spiritual eco community in northern Italy. The process is easy; simply connect to a tree using your senses and circle the tree three times. The pendulum is programed to orient a tree to the existing global network.
To know more about it see our article: Tree orientation: the world’s biggest magic operation with nature.
How to partecipate
If Holly (Ilex aquifolium) finds its leaves are being nibbled by deer, it switches genes on to make them spiky when they regrow. So on taller Holly trees, the upper leaves (which are out of reach) have smooth edges, while the lower leaves are prickly
With shiny evergreen leaves and bright red berries, holly trees are a naturally festive decoration seen throughout the Christmas season.
They’re famously sharp. But not all holly leaves are prickly, even on the same tree. And scientists now think they know how the plants are able to make sharper leaves, seemingly at will.
A new study published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society suggests leaf variations on a single tree are the combined result of animals browsing on them and the trees’ swift molecular response to that sort of environmental pressure.
Carlos Herrera of the National Research Council of Spain led the study in southeastern Spain. He and his team investigated the European holly tree, Ilex aquifolium. Hollies, like other plants, can make different types of leaves at the same time. This is called heterophylly. Out of the 40 holly trees they studied, 39 trees displayed different kinds of leaves, both prickly and smooth.
Some trees looked like they had been browsed upon by wild goats and deer. On those trees, the lower 8 feet (2.5 meters) had more prickly leaves, while higher up the leaves tended to be smooth. Scientists wanted to figure out how the holly trees could make the change in leaf shape so quickly.
All of the leaves on a tree are genetic twins and share exactly the same DNA sequence. By looking in the DNA for traces of a chemical process called methylation, which modifies DNA but doesn’t alter the organism’s genetic sequence, the team could determine whether leaf variation was a response to environmental or genetic changes. They found a relationship between recent browsing by animals, the growth of prickly leaves, and methylation.
“In holly, what we found is that the DNA of prickly leaves was significantly less methylated than prickless leaves, and from this we inferred that methylation changes are ultimately responsible for leaf shape changes,” Herrera said. “The novelty of our study is that we show that these well-known changes in leaf type are associated with differences in DNA methylation patterns, that is, epigenetic changes that do not depend on variation in the sequence of DNA.”
“Heterophylly is an obvious feature of a well-known species, and this has been ascribed to browsing. However, until now, no one has been able to come up with a mechanism for how this occurs,” said Mike Fay, chief editor of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society and head of genetics at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. “With this new study, we are now one major step forward towards understanding how.”
Epigenetic changes take place independently of variation in the genetic DNA sequence.
“This has clear and important implications for plant conservation,” Herrera said. In natural populations that have their genetic variation depleted by habitat loss, the ability to respond quickly, without waiting for slower DNA changes, could help organisms survive accelerated environmental change. The plants’ adaptability, he says, is an “optimistic note” amidst so many conservation concerns. (Related: “Wild Holly, Mistletoe, Spread With Warmer Winters.”)
References ~ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/121220-holly-leaves-prickly-plants-science
Facebook Page ~ David Attenborough Fans. for more!
Charles’ Jubilee treebute: In honour of his mother, the Prince awards a special status to 70 of Britain’s most significant trees – including a 423-year-old sycamore and an apple tree reputed to have helped Isaac Newton develop the theory of gravity. Also a churchyard yew in the Cotswolds whose vast trunk is said to have inspired J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings writings as well as Sussex’s Five Hundred Acre Wood, the inspiration for 100 Acre Wood in the Children’s classic Winnie the Pooh.
The Prince of Wales launched the campaign to honour the trees, one for every year of his mother’s reign, with a video message recorded in front of a 423-year-old sycamore at Dumfries House in Ayrshire.
He says: ‘Planted in 1599, during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James VI, it is remarkable that this ancient tree is as old as Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Caravaggio’s David And Goliath… Trees and woodlands have a profound significance for us all – their steadfast and reassuring presence a reminder of our long-serving Sovereign and her enduring dedication.’
He said: “I believe it is absolutely vital that we do our utmost to nurture our historic inheritance through careful management and, in the case of the woodlands, that we can expand them and link them to other natural features like our hedgerows.
“And if we are to create the ‘ancient’ trees of the future, we must plant more trees in hedgerows, fields, churchyards and avenues.
“Furthermore, I would suggest that some of those planted should be propagated from today’s ancient trees, thus helping to preserve their unique provenance and heritage.”
The prince added: “These working woodlands and magnificent trees span our nation’s amazing landscape and exist for everyone to enjoy.
“At the same time, they support biodiversity, and help to provide us with the most versatile and beautiful of materials for our craftsmen and women.”
“But we need to replenish these precious, dwindling assets for future generations and for our depleted landscapes and townscapes.”
The project will also recognise 70 ancient woodlands and forms part of the Queen’s Green Canopy project to plant and preserve trees. In her seven decades on the throne, Her Majesty has planted more than 1,500 trees around the world.
The tree is a running motif of the jubilee celebrations, with more than a million people having ‘planted a tree for the jubilee’ this year. And a giant tree-like structure will be installed outside Buckingham Palace over the summer. It will be made up of 350 young trees in pots, which will be planted across the UK once the installation is dismantled.
Other trees chosen for the special conservation status include the impressive National Champion silver fir in Argyll, known as The Monster and believed to be the largest in the UK; the Royal Oak at Boscobel House, Shropshire, which is a descendant of the tree in which the future Charles II hid to escape Parliamentarian forces; and a huge yew in Much Marcle, Herefordshire, which is so vast that a bench has been constructed within its trunk.
Darren Moorcroft, chief executive of the Woodland Trust, said: ‘Ancient woods and trees are jewels in the UK’s landscape.
‘The Woodland Trust is delighted the Queen’s Green Canopy is highlighting the need to protect these treasures in our natural heritage.’
In Wales, the Wyesham Oak can be seen on a road bearing its name, Oak Crescent, where residents past and present take pride in their connection to the 1,000-year-old tree which has stood the test of time and development.
And in Northern Ireland, QGC ambassador Lady Mary Peters, former Olympic athlete and advocate for older people to exercise more, has used Hazelbank Park on the shores of Belfast Lough as a location to gather walkers to promote how outdoor spaces are vital for health and wellbeing.
References ~ News stories from the Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, Sky News.
A 70ft living sculpture made from 350 British native species to stand outside Buckingham Palace as a centrepiece for London’s historic celebrations
An artist’s impression shows how the 70ft structure, made up of small trees in aluminium pots ‘sprouting’ from timber-plank branches, will tower over the palace gates during the four-day bank holiday weekend in June.
It will form a centrepiece of celebrations at the palace, which will include a live pop concert to be held in front of 10,000 people.
The sculpture was announced on Friday which was Earth Day, with the Prince of Wales also marking the occasion with an environmental project for children.
The ‘Tree of Trees’ sculpture, created by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, reflects the planting of more than a million Jubilee trees as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC).
The initiative, which spans two official tree-planting seasons, has already seen thousands of people planting Jubilee saplings across the UK to create a canopy of green in tribute to the monarch’s 70 years of service to the nation.
The trees that make up the sculpture will be gifted to community groups and organisations at the start of the next planting season in October.
Royal tree-planting has long been a staple duty for the Windsors and is usually used to commemorate official visits.
During her reign, the Queen has planted more than 1,500 trees across the world.
Mr Heatherwick, whose past designs include London’s Coal Drops Yard and office buildings for Google, said it was an ‘honour’ to work on the project.
He said: ‘The structure, created from 350 British native trees and recycled steel, is coming together from workshops and nurseries across the country as one part of an incredible community campaign that’s literally changing the landscape of our nation.’
The Canopy Project improves our shared environment by planting trees across the globe. Since 2010, EARTHDAY.ORG™ has planted tens of millions of trees with The Canopy Project, working worldwide to strengthen communities.
EARTHDAY.ORG works with global partners to reforest areas in dire need of rehabilitation, including areas with some of the world’s communities most at-risk from climate change and environmental degradation. We have also conducted broad tree planting in the wake of environmental disasters.
REFORESTATION MAP
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the world’s forests have lost about 20% of their coverage. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, about 7.3 million hectares (18 million acres) of forest are lost every year, and roughly half of Earth’s tropical forests have already been cleared.
EARTHDAY.ORG recognizes that planting billions of trees across the world is one of the biggest and cheapest ways of taking CO2 out of the atmosphere to tackle the climate crisis. Not only do forests act as carbon sinks, but they also provide vital habitat for animals and ecological services for humans, such as purifying the air we breathe and regulating local temperatures.
Responsible reforestation programmes can stabilize land from erosion or natural disasters, improve soil health and groundwater recharge, promote native and endemic fauna, and provide economic development for nearby communities.
EARTHDAY.ORG understands that reforestation is one of the most important and accessible ways that people can contribute to solving the challenges of climate change and is committed to continuing The Canopy Project and investing in responsible reforestation programmes internationally.
Our planting locations are selected to have a direct and positive impact on areas affected by climate change. We work hard to ensure our programs also benefit the people and communities who live near the new trees, and often plant tree species that produce fruit, nuts, or other resources that help people.
Our projects typically include the growing of saplings in nurseries for 6-12 months before planting, as well as pruning and maintenance of trees for the first couple of years of their lives. This helps us maximize the number of trees that survive to maturity. In most cases, nursery and maintenance staff are local workers who gain valuable skills that help them serve as responsible stewards of the restored habitat.
EARTHDAY.ORG will also partner with technical organizations and government agencies near planting sites to provide forestry and maintenance training to local workers, allowing them to gain valuable skills to continue reforestation projects
Casting seeds on the ground without a plan for growing and nurturing the trees over time is a practice that may be inexpensive but has been shown to yield low tree survival rates and is viewed as environmentally and socially less effective by EARTHDAY.ORG. Instead, we work closely with on-the-ground community groups that are trained and committed to nurturing these trees to maturation for life spans that often reach 100 years or more.
Like people, trees are subject to diseases and threatened by poor planting methods and changing climate conditions. These challenges must be anticipated in order to ensure maximum survival of healthy trees.
EARTHDAY.ORG has planted trees for nearly 20 years, with plantings located on every continent except Antarctica. Currently, our planting locations are focused in the Mt. Elgon region of Uganda, foothills of the Himalayas in India, forests near Sierra Gorda in Mexico, and a recent project now underway in Madagascar.
We are always on the lookout for planting locations and partners who are committed to responsible reforestation programmes.
With so many areas of the world in need of reforestation, EARTHDAY.ORG has to consider many factors when selecting a single location for plantings. After a thorough investigation to ensure that on-the-ground planters can report accurately on projects, we consider the following factors:
Urgency to protect biodiversity
Threats to the location from climate change or environmental disasters
Development of the local community
Cost-effectiveness and accessibility
On top of these factors, we must consider the long-term impacts of reforestation at our locations. We try our best to support and grow our planting projects over multiple years, and rely on trained staff to continue stewarding reforested land and to look for new projects in the area that would conserve biodiversity and uplift communities.
Tree planting costs vary by location with planting in developed countries such as the U.S. typically more expensive. For The Canopy Project, EARTHDAY.ORG can often plant one tree for as little as $1, while in some areas those costs can be significantly higher. Donations directly covers the purchase of materials, time spent growing in nurseries, long-term maintenance, as well as the operating costs that allow us to carry out and expand our programmes.
Our projects are not certified for any current carbon market. While our primary reforestation focus is empowering local communities and restoring habitat, every tree planted becomes an important part of our greater quest to mitigate climate change. Once a tree reaches maturity, we use the universally accepted standard of 48 pounds of carbon dioxide sequestered per tree per year to estimate the amount of carbon The Canopy Project has removed from the atmosphere.
Can my company plant trees with EARTHDAY.ORG?
Of course! Tree planting is a critical activity that can help businesses achieve their SDGs and contributes to your corporate responsibility and sustainable leadership. And it’s a good thing to do!
If you are representing a company interested in planting trees with EARTHDAY.ORG, or wish to work on a special project with us, please email sponsorship@earthday.org
I’m in the process of moving from living on a narrowboat to bricks and mortar. My blog posts will resume more fully after this transition. Thank you for your patience.
Bjorn Lindeblad was on the path to success with a a stellar career and enviable lifestyle. Then he gave it all up… to become a forest monk.
Lindeblad was a fairly typical product of the Swedish system: brighter than average, more ambitious than average and, armed with a sharp suit, a briefcase and a good economics degree, clearly going places.
At the age of 26 he was working for a multinational company, had been transferred to their Spanish office, had a company car, a secretary and regularly flew business class. But he was pretending, pretending to be interested in economics, pretending to give a monkeys about his job. ‘I think almost everyone who has ever appeared outwardly successful has also eventually realised that’s no guarantee of happiness.’
But Lindeblad was already an enviably clear-thinker about life. ‘A job . . . has to nourish and stimulate some deeper part of our being. That type of nourishment is rarely derived from success. Rather, it comes from feeling connected to the people you work with, feeling that your work has meaning, that your talents are somehow making a difference.’
Then one day he started meditating. He had heard it helped, although he found it perilously difficult to silence the endless foolish and negative thoughts in his head. But as he did so, one thought came to the forefront.
‘Something inside me, that seemed to come out of nowhere, that wasn’t the final link in a chain of thoughts, that wasn’t the result of reasoning, but that, rather, just suddenly appeared.’
The thought was this: ‘It’s time to move on.’
So he did. He chucked in his job, went travelling to the Far East and, to cut a long story short, ended up as a novice monk in a Thai forest monastery, where he shaved his head and got used to rising at 3.30 in the morning for the first bout of morning meditation. They used no money there, and for food had to rely on the generosity of nearby villagers, who fortunately all held the monks in very high esteem.
There was no modern technology — no internet, no smartphones — and monks had to refrain from sex (even with themselves) and alcohol, although they did get the occasional cup of tea.
It was a simple but happy life, focusing on meditation, simplicity and ethics. Given the new name ‘Natthiko’, which means ‘One who grows in wisdom’, Lindeblad seems to have adjusted easily to his new life, even though, for several years, he found meditation very challenging, and had a particular problem staying awake during any session of any length.
Others had the same problem. One monk tended to walk around while meditating, but found he could fall asleep standing up. Now, there’s a skill worth acquiring.
As befits someone who spent 17 years as a Buddhist monk, Lindeblad talks a lot of good sense. ‘In the western world, not least in business, I’d been told that intellect trumps virtually everything. But here, I was given convincing proof of what I’d long suspected — that we humans have so many other resources at our disposal, too. There exists an intelligence that isn’t confined to our heads, and we would do well to turn to it more . . . for the first time in my life, I felt the world agreed with me about what was important: being present in everything you do. Telling the truth. Helping each other. And trusting silence more than chattering thoughts.’ He says it was ‘like coming home’.
I May Be Wrong is no self-help book, but it contains more wisdom and will do more people more good than the complete works of Paul McKenna.
After a few years in Thailand, Lindeblad became a monk at a Thai monastery in England, which was a different sort of challenge, then moved to Switzerland, and then gave up his monkish robes and moved back to Sweden.
He suffered a profound depression for 18 months and could do nothing, beyond feeling what a failure he was. He had dedicated half his life to deepening, understanding and developing himself as a person, and for what? He didn’t have a job, he didn’t have a girlfriend, he didn’t have any hope, and only through meditation could he still his teeming, negative thoughts.
So when his money ran out, he began teaching the art of meditation, and found many willing pupils. Eventually he was called upon to write this book, which has been a bestseller in Sweden and is now being translated into every known language. Then in 2018 he was diagnosed with ALS, or motor-neurone disease as we better know it.
It’s a cruel, incurable condition, which rapidly takes away your ability to do anything at all, but Lindeblad isn’t bitter or angry. He just accepts his bad luck as he accepted his previous good luck when it came. He comes over as a wondrous man who has lived a good life, and what better can be said for anyone?
Finally, that title. The monks were engaged in an all-night meditation session and, as usual, Lindeblad was struggling to stay awake. One of the novice monks brought in a cauldron of hot sweet coffee: a godsend. Then the abbot of the monastery, Ajahn Jayasaro, stood up to make a speech. ‘Tonight,’ he said, ‘I want to give you a magic mantra.’ The monks were taken aback: the forest tradition rejects anything to do with magic and mysticism.
But Jayasaro continued: ‘The next time you sense a conflict brewing, when you feel that things are about to come to a head with someone, just repeat this mantra to yourself three times, sincerely and convincingly, and your worries will evaporate, like dew from the grass on a summer morning.’
He leaned forward, paused for effect and then said: ‘Here’s the magic mantra:
‘I may be wrong.
‘I may be wrong.
‘I may be wrong.’
This is a book of some brilliance, although, of course, I may be wrong.
Say Goodbye
In the summer of 2021 he turned 60 years old. There was no party due to the pandemic and the disease. But at the end of November, Björn Natthiko Lindeblad told TV4 Nyheterna that he would gather some of his friends to celebrate life – and also say goodbye.
Björn Natthiko Lindeblad fell asleep on January 17 in northern Halland surrounded by loved ones.
In a longer post that was published on his social media he tells how he chose to end his life. ‘i was surrounded by loved ones, I swallowed a glass of smoothie with the usual preparation, then fell asleep calmly and quietly. Without fear or hesitation, I got what I wanted’.
“If you’re reading this, I’m out of time.”
“A feeling of being blessed”
Björn Natthiko Lindeblad continues:
“I get rid of a feeling of being blessed, and well prepared for the biggest and most unpredictable adventure of all. The adventurer in me has no reservations at all. Thank you all who lit up my life.
Thank you for so often feeling, seen, understood, appreciated, trusted, supported, welcomed, even loved. The only way the one I was now remains is like a memory. In you, and everyone else who knew me.
Of course, you make that memory what you want it to be. ”He writes that those who want to make him happy are happy to cherish that memory, and concludes with the words:
“With my arms full of sun-warm gratitude, Björn Natthiko Lindeblad
Forest Monks In Buddhism
The Forest Monk Tradition of Theravada Buddhism could be understood as a modern revival of ancient monasticism. Although the term “forest monk tradition” primarily is associated with the Kammatthana tradition of Thailand, today there are many forest traditions around the world.
Why forest monks? Early Buddhism had many associations with trees. The Buddha was born under a sal tree, a flowering tree common to the Indian subcontinent. When he entered final Nirvana, he was surrounded by sal trees. He was enlightened under the bodhi tree, or sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa). The first Buddhist nuns and monks had no permanent monasteries and slept under trees.
Although there have been some forest-dwelling, mendicant Buddhist monks in Asia ever since, as time went on, most monks and nuns moved into permanent monasteries, often within urban settings. And from time to time, teachers worried that the wilderness spirit of original Buddhism had been lost.
Origins of the Thai Forest Tradition
Kammatthana (meditation) Buddhism, often called the Thai Forest Tradition, was founded in the early 20th century by Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta Thera (1870-1949; Ajahn is a title, meaning “teacher”) and his mentor, Ajahn Sao Kantasilo Mahathera (1861–1941). Today this best-known forest tradition is spreading around the world, with what might loosely be called “affiliate” orders in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and other western countries.
By many accounts, Ajahn Mun had not planned to begin a movement. Instead, he was simply pursuing a solitary practice. He sought out secluded places in the forests of Laos and Thailand where he could meditate without the interruptions and schedules of community monastic life. He chose to keep the Vinaya strictly, including begging for all of his food, eating one meal a day, and making robes made of discarded cloth.
But as word of this reclusive monk’s practice got around, naturally he drew a following. In those days monastic discipline in Thailand had grown loose. Meditation had become optional and didn’t always conform to Theravada insight meditation practice. Some monks practiced shamanism and fortune telling instead of studying the dharma.
The Modern Forest Monk
However, within Thailand, there also was a small reform movement called Dhammayut, begun by Prince Mongkut (1804-1868) in the 1820s. Prince Mongkut became an ordained monk and began a new monastic order called Dhammayuttika Nikaya, dedicated to the strict observance of the Vinaya, Vipassana meditation, and study of the Pali Canon. When Prince Mongkut became King Rama IV in 1851, among his many accomplishments were the building of new Dhammayut centers. (King Rama IV is also the monarch portrayed in the book Anna and the King of Siam and the musical The King and I.)
Sometime later young Ajahn Mun joined the Dhammayuttika order and studied with Ajahn Sao, who had a small country monastery. Ajahn Sao was particularly dedicated to meditation rather than the study of scriptures. After spending a few years with his mentor, Ajahn Mun withdrew to the forests and, after some two decades of wandering, settled in a cave. And then disciples began to find him.
Ajahn Mun’s Kammatthana movement differed from the earlier Dhammayu reform movement in that it emphasized direct insight through meditation over the scholastic study of the Pali Canon. Ajahn Mun taught that scriptures were pointers to insight, not insight-in-itself.
The Thai Forest Tradition is flourishing today and is known for its discipline and asceticism. Today’s forest monks do have monasteries, but they are away from urban centers.
