The first settlers of Iceland brought sheep, pigs and horses with them. Back in the days, Iceland was covered with trees, which had to be cut down to create pastures for the livestock. Over hundreds of years, more and more forests were turned into grasslands for cattle, until almost all the trees were cut. This phenomenon is called forest clearance for agriculture. For a long time, reforestation efforts were difficult, especially because the livestock ate the seedlings of Icelandic birch trees.
These days, reforestation is going well, and Þórsmörk is one of the places that has a flourishing birch forest. It has been kept by the Icelandic Forest Service since 1920.
Hallormsstaðaskógur In East Iceland, you can find a forest of 7.4km2 called Hallormsstaðaskógur. It has been preserved since 1905 and it’s Iceland’s first national forest. The area has great hiking trails of a total of 40km, for instance to Ljósárfoss waterfall, the Hallormsstaður cliffs, and Geirólfsstaðir farm. It contains 85 different tree species, and it offers great opportunities for berry and mushroom picking. Thirsty after a hike? Clear streams with drinkable water run through the area. In the forest, there are two campsites and several picnic spots.
Ásbyrgi Nature Reserve Ásbyrgi is a glacial, horseshoe-shaped canyon about 30km from Dettifoss. As legend goes, Sleipnir, Oðinn’s eight-legged horse, created the canyon by stepping onto land there. The cliffs of the canyon are 100m tall, and within the cliffs the area is covered with lush birch trees, green grass, herbs, and flowers. The high cliffs shelter the area from wind, making it easier for nature to flourish. There are lots of hiking options in the area, from short hikes to day hikes, and you can also visit information centre Gljúfrastofa.
“Shining red hawthorn berries.
Today is a day to pick them to add to my three stages tincture which already has the medicine of the leaves and blossom in.
This is a medicine for the heart and for connection to this wonderful and deeply magical tree.
Hawthorn also contains a large amount of pectin which makes it so good for fruit leathers, jams and to thicken sauces.
I adore to nibble these berries or haws as they are also known. They taste of avocado and apples”.
Robin Harford is a professional forager, ethnobotanical researcher, wild food educator and sensory botanist. He gathers wild edible plants on a daily basis, and is the creator of the UK’s leading wild food site eatweeds.co.uk, which is listed in The Times Top 50 websites for food and drink. Robin has been writing, filming, publishing and teaching people about their local edible landscape since 2008. Recently his foraging courses where voted #1 in the country by BBC Countryfile. He is also a co-director of Plants & Healers International, a nonprofit that connects people, plants and healers around the world. He travels extensively documenting and recording the traditional and local uses of wild food plants in indigenous cultures, and his work has taken him to Africa, India, SE Asia, Europe and the USA. Robin has taught foraging at Eden Project, appeared on BBC2’s Edwardian Farm, Soul Seekers TV series, appeared on national and local BBC radio and been recommended in BBC Good Food magazine, Sainsbury’s magazine as well as in The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, GQ, The Ecologist and Green Parent, to name a few.
In America the American Chestnut has been called the Redwood of the East. It’s trunk soared 100 feet high and could reach 10 feet in diameter. With crowns that spanned a fifth of an acre, its prodigious nut crops were essential food for everything from bears to pigeons. It was known as the cradle to the grave tree because people were born in rot resistant Chestnut houses, warmed by Chestnut fires, entertained by Chestnut fiddles and laid to rest in Chestnut coffins.Then in 1876, a nurseryman imported some Japanese Chestnut seeds that carried a fungus in which the American Chestnut had no resistance. The blight was discovered in 1904 at the Bronx zoo and it spread with shocking speed. By 1950, four billion American Chestnuts- 99.9% of the species had died, their bark ripped open to reveal a sickly orange rot girdling their trunks.In the New York Botanical Gardens there are three genetically modified Chestnut trees with a sign at the base of the trees ~ American Chestnut Trial, Castanea Dentata, Darling 4. Born in a lab in Syracuse, Darling 4 was engineered by geneticist who inserted a wheat gene into a wild Chestnut embryo extracted from an immature nut. The gene gives the Chestnut the ability to make an enzyme that detoxifies the blight – a skill none of the four billion American Chestnuts preceded it ever developed.Darling 4 doesn’t make enough of the enzyme to stop the blight completely, but its successor, Darling 58 – currently flourishing on a research farm at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse – does. The goal is for the new tree to be distributed to nurseries and planted in forests throughout the East marking a major milestone in the story of GMOs.
Before it can be released into the wild the transgenic Chestnut has to pass a battery of ecological tests at SUNY designed to ensure that it acts like a natural Chestnut. Then it must be approved by the United States Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. So far the tree has excelled in all the tests. Approval is looking likely.
Research on genetically engineered trees has been with species commonly used in industrial plantations – poplar, pine and eucalyptus – and has focused on engineering traits that would boost profitability, such as disease resistance, insect resistance, herbicide tolerance, cold tolerance and faster growth. In this they have mirrored the development of GMO crops, and they have drawn similar criticisms.
Resistance to genetically engineered trees has been strong with the ‘Campaign to Stop GE Trees’ leading the charge. To date only a handful of transgenic have made it to field trials, including frost tolerant eucalyptus trees and fast growing poplar and eucalyptus and only two have had significant commercial rollout: an insect resistant poplar in China and transgenic papayas in Hawaii and China. ArborGen, the company that invented the cold tolerant eucalyptus, petitioned the USDA for clearance to farm the tree in the US back in 2011, but it is still waiting a ruling.
The genetically engineered Chestnut is different as no one is seeking to profit from it. Its only purpose is to save a beloved species from extinction.
Darling 58 is now being crossed with the surviving wild Chestnuts via hand pollination, to produce a line of hundreds of unique trees that will embody the full breadth of America Chestnut biodiversity. These trees will have the full suite of 38,000 native Chestnut genes. Later this year SUNY will submit its application to release the Chestnut to the EPA, the FDA and the USDA. If the agencies all approve, seedlings could be ready for distribution by 2021.
The scientists at SUNY have tested as many aspects of its interactions with its future environment as possible. They’ve checked to make sure mycorrhizal fungi colonise its roots normally. They’ve confirmed that grasses, shrubs, pine trees and maple trees will germinate in its leaf litter. They’ve fed its leaf detritus to insects and tadpoles and they’ve let bees feast on its pollen.
In all the tests, there have been no difference between the transgenic Chestnut and the wild Chestnut.
Yet even though the Chestnut is being developed for the public good, the ‘Campaign to Stop GE Trees’ has raised concerns that it will open the door to commercial entities with less benevolent plans.
Ash trees are now dying. They’ve been attacked by the emerald Ash borer, an Asian beetle that arrived in Michigan 20 years ago in a packing shipment killing 99.7% of Ashes in its path, hundreds of millions of trees.
The Ashes are just the latest victims. The needles of nearly every hemlock are clumped with white waxy balls produced by the woolly adelgid as it sucks their sap. Most Eastern hemlocks from Canada to the Smoky Mountains will soon be grey ghosts. The American Elms are already gone having succumbed to Dutch Elm disease long ago. The grey bark of Beech trees are cankered with Beech bark disease.
All these declines are due to introduced species or insects or fungi to which our native trees have little resistance. The impact on our forests is massive.
So perhaps if the Darling 58 Chestnuts get their approval, they will grow tall, spread their crowns and when autumn comes drop their bounteous crop of nuts. The wildlife feeding on them won’t give a thought to the unusual coil of DNA keeping these trees alive. They’ll just eat and settle into autumn and life will go on.
“The man above is rescuing an exhausted jaguar trying to escape the fires in the Brazilian rain forest by going into the river. So much world-wide grief…Perhaps this event will become the rallying cry for humanity to join together on behalf of Gaia. Our love and healing energies to the rain forest, all beings and our beloved planet”. Debbie Polleli 🌎🌈🌧🍄💐💖
Thank you to my dear friend Marcia Beachy in Pueblo, CO for the image.
Amazonia Calling ~ a letter from Clare Dubois, TreeSisters Founder and CEO 🌳🍃🌳
The world is quite literally holding its breath as we watch the unfolding catastrophe in the Amazon. There are so many different perspectives and responses to this depending upon who you listen to.
If you listen to Brazilian President, Bolsonaro, he will tell you that this is normal at this time of year, that it is normal for farmers to be clearing land during the dry season. Indeed, in our insane worldview where grass and cattle (soya, palm oil, minerals etc) are ‘financially’ preferable over the millions of species that are wiped away when ‘cleared’ every year, it is indeed normal practice in just about every tropical forest in the world. But normal does not mean acceptable, sane, appropriate or ecologically viable. It is not.
Indigenous peoples of the Amazon have been stating loudly for years now that the forest is reaching a tipping point. There is only so much forest loss that can occur before the drying out of that ecosystem happens, leading to fires which easily become out. This is where we stand. The fires are raging harder and faster and threatening many more indigenous peoples and tribes who belong to these forests.
So what do we do? Well, this is complex and it is not a short term quick fix as it surfaces many more deeply rooted issues that are driving destruction, but there are actions to take.
At the very least, the G7 have offered £22m in funds to help extinguish the fires and we’re hearing reports of many more philanthropists and public figures getting involved. The good news here is that collaborative thinking is finally happening and the world is waking up to the fact that forest fires in the Amazon directly affect climate everywhere. Public awareness is turning squarely to the global forest. To me, we literally are entering ‘the time of the trees.’
💚 For TreeSisters 💚
Firstly, please know that our own Brazilian project is way further south in the Atlantic rainforest, and is not (currently) threatened by fires. If you would like to donate to our projects, you can do that by clicking here: https://femmiversity.treesisters.org/donate/
Know also that one of the reasons that we have been calling and asking for everybody to make restoration part of their daily lives is to strengthen all the forest ecosystems that we are planting so that they do not dehydrate, and thus are less likely to succumb to the fires that are becoming ever more present due to climate change.
💚 Meditations and Prayers 💚
In specific response to the fires, we are about to start a series of global meditations and prayers for the Amazon (treesisters throughout the network are already moving on this and offering their own energy and brilliance). These are going to be in collaboration with other women’s organisations and we will notify you of them as soon as we have clarified the details. World Amazon Day is 5 September so be sure that something is coming and check our social channels and online community in the Nest.
If you are not already part of our community called the Nest, please do join other treesisters from around the world by clicking this link: https://treesisters-nest.org
💚 Groups working directly with the Indigenous people of the Amazon 💚
In terms of organisations who are making a difference here are a few more that we are aware of through our network ~
Amazon Watch
Amazon Conservation Team
Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Trust
The Rainforest Foundation UK / Rainforest Foundation US
💚 Building towards a future 💚
As always, both sides of the equation (reducing deforestation and increasing forest restoration) need to be addressed. A root issue is that our consumption patterns drive deforestation and our own carbon emissions are warming our planet and contributing to the drying out the forests. Therefore increased awareness of what we are purchasing and why, and ensuring that you are contributing to the reforestation of the global forest are both imperatives for all of us now. (https://femmiversity.treesisters.org/donate/)
As we move towards 2020 where we are seeding the Year of the Tree (which will actually happen in 2021) we will be partnering with those who are forwarding the agenda of reducing deforestation through aware consumption. We’re already exploring this and it’s important because women make over 85% of consumer choices and so when we wake up we literally can drive business.
We are going to start partnering with business (there are blogs coming soon to explain our position and strategy) to see what good we can do to steer businesses towards embedded restoration in every transaction (to reach and inspire their customers) while they look to evolve and clean up their impacts. It matters. It’s complex, but it’s needed so we are exploring, learning and starting to strike out in new directions.
This is a very full on time to be alive. It’s also a crucial time to be alive if you want to live a meaningful life that has an impact on the future of our own and all other species.
Inside TreeSisters we are growing on all fronts and addressing more elements of our complex world than ever before.
Inside TreeSisters we are growing on all fronts and addressing more elements of our complex world than ever before.
💚Calling all treesisters 💚
May all of us hold the Amazon in our prayers.
May all of us look more deeply at how we are living.
May all of us contribute to those organisations directly serving those on the front lines of this catastrophe.
An incredible and creatively designed nature observatory called Camp Adventure is located about one hour south of Copenhagen, Denmark, in the preserved forest of Gisselfeld Klosters Skove.
A sturdy walking bridge, nearly 3000 feet long was built to wind through the forest until the path eventually ends at the foot of a 148 tall observation tower. The observation tower looks like a spiral ramp that stretches above the trees. The Treetop Experience includes two different paths, one that allows you stay on the ground, and another high route that winds through the canopy of the trees, allowing visitors to look down on the forest below.
The higher path passes through the oldest parts of the forest, while the tower and the lower paths are located in the younger areas. The high walkway also features a variety of activities that teaches visitors about the forest.
Just after Camp Adventure was completed in 2017, the architecture studio behind the project, EFFEKT, won the iconic award for ‘Visionary Architecture’. The studio says that the Camp Adventure tower and treetop walk is a “seamless continuous ramp that makes the forest accessible to all ~ regardless of their physical condition”.
“The geometry of the tower is shaped to enhance the visitor experience shunning the typical cylindrical shape in favour of a curved profile with a slender waist and enlarged base and crown.
This does not only increase the stability of the tower but also increase the observation deck area at the top of the tower. Furthermore it can allow better contact to the forest canopy”.
Reference: Instagram @Extraordinary_Youniverse All Photos courtesy of EFFEKT. Architect Truth Theory.
Walking with the plants has opened my entire being. Shuffling my centre around and placing it back inside me; a lot more wilder, a lot more wiser and a lot more loved.
This journey has opened my heart, strengthened my senses and made me healthier, more connected, aware, authentic and free.
It has dug up my inner knowing, heightened my feelings and enlivened my mind.
I never knew, when I stepped onto these wild pathways, that I would be gathering my torn soul and struggling heart from the brambles and putting them into my basket, along with the gathered wild medicines.
That the mirror of Nettle, the warrior dandelion, the lunar weed, would point me to a place of home inside myself and would ignite my own ability to want to heal.
I never knew that this earth would reveal so many hidden layers, mending my soul like a wild balm and sending pulses to my heart in greens and golds, tenderly sewing me together with threads of life, patching me up with pockets of ancient wisdom and earthy roots.
This journey has made me see that we have two precious homes; our bodies and this earth.
We must care for them both, explore them well; deeply and tenderly.
For they will lead you to a place of rest and aliveness within.
Tree Weaver 