Tree Weaver

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.

May all of us fund tropical reforestation as a core element of our lives. You can do that here through TreeSisters ~ https://femmiversity.treesisters.org/donate/

May as many of us that are ready to rebel on behalf of life stand with the rebellion. Extinction Rebellion

May all of us look deeply into our own souls and ask what it is that we are uniquely able to bring to the world at this time. Your gifts are needed.

With all my heart to all of you – and most especially to the Amazon heart of our world and those who protect her.

With love and deep gratitude,
Clare

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.

• words by Brigit Anna McNeill •

https://ajoyfulevolution.wordpress.com/2019/07/06/cultivating-energy-awareness-through-natural-living-for-optimal-health-happiness-and-longevity/

Earth, Teach Me

Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.

~ Ute Prayer

Many people know about Nettles and their wonderful ability to rebuild and restore due to being intensely nutritive, full of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.

Nettles are more rich and nourishing than spirulina and they are free. But not many people have noticed let alone got to know the magic that lies within the seeds. When Nettles have seeded, tiny little bunches of crunchy seeds appear on long stems shooting out with potency and life and these are also a rich source of medicine and food. When these strings of seeds are pointing down to the ground with their own weight they are then ready to pick. They should look swollen crunchy and not brown or fluffy.
Nettle seeds work as an adaptogen (a natural substance considered to help the body adapt to stress.) and a trophorestorative (acts as a nutritive restorative for the body, usually with a strong affinity for an organ or organ system and corrects deficiency and weakness not simply through temporary stimulation but through the vital nourishment of that organ or organ system. )

Nettle seed has an affinity with the Kidneys and so works as an adaptogen and trophorestorative with this organ in mind, and has the same affect on the adrenals as well. The adrenals sit on top of the kidneys like a little triangular hat. Your adrenals are incredibly important to the health and wellbeing of your body,
they manufacture certain vital hormones, such as the stress hormone cortisol (which helps regulate metabolism and helps your body respond to stress), adrenaline (which helps your body react to stress, preparing your body to spring into action in a stressful situation). Too much stress over long periods of time such as busy jobs, the constant thought of all those bills to pay, school work overload, weekends with a thousand things jammed into them, meetings, the feeling of not being good enough and on top of that pile unhealthy doses of coffee and vast amounts of alcohol… all of these lead to an overload for the adrenal glands. They will start to produce too much adrenaline and cortisol which leads to a constant feeling of fight or flight which leads to complete exhaustion and renders the adrenal glands dysfunctional and therefore altering the appropriate balance of hormones in the body. The adrenals are not designed for a constant level of stress that is so common in this modern western lifestyle and its societal demands for busyness and pushing oneself to the max.

A recent study published in the Journal of The American Herbalist Guild confirms that Nettle Seed increases kidney glomerular function and reduces serum creatinine levels. Many herbalists have seen significant benefits from using Nettle Seed tincture in patients with glomerulonephritis, chronic nephritis with degeneration, and to protect the kidneys from nephrotoxic medications.’ Impressive stuff.
As the endocrine glands work together to maintain a subtle balance in the body, often a medicine that affects one of them will have a knock on effect throughout the entire system. So nettle seeds can help harmonise the whole of the endocrine system, though their primary action is to balance the adrenals.

Both fresh Nettles and Nettle seeds work wonders for the adrenal glands and are a real restorative.

Dried Nettle seed when eaten 1-2 teaspoons a day boosts energy levels, reduces stress and gives a feeling of calm and wellbeing. Fresh Nettle seed or an extra large dose can be a little too potent for many people and the dried seeds give a softer more gentle effect. Of course Nettles and their seeds won’t cure you of stress but they can help bring about a sense of wellness that will help you deal with what needs to change in your life to make you feel healthier again, such as time for you, learning what’s really important in life and how to follow what it is you really want. If you are doing all these things and yet can’t seem to find energy for life it may be that you have adrenal burn out and Nettle seeds and fresh nettle leaves will help restore balance to the adrenals and bring back much needed energy levels.

It’s worth knowing that when Nettles have flowered and seeded the leaves can become an irritant to the kidneys and a mild laxative. Once they have seeded use the seeds and not the leaves. The seeds are less drying than the leaves and are more oil rich and so are better for people who have a tendency to dryness.

This amount of nettles filled an average size jar with dried seeds.

I like to eat my Nettle seeds on yogurt, porridge, put in smoothies, taken by the teaspoon in the morning, added to raw chocolate balls, made into a vinegar, sprinkled on salads and added to sandwiches.

Enjoy the abundance!

Reference ~ Brigit Anna McNeill, https://brigitannamcneill

https://www.google.com/amp/s/whisperingearth.co.uk/2010/08/23/harvesting-nettle-seeds/amp/

Creative Roots is a Woodland Parent and Child Group in the beautiful Bathford Woodlands.

Dominika Baran is the creator of Creative Roots. If you get a chance, take a class to connect you mind body and soul. Working with your hands in an ancient way in such a natural landscape is so healing and nurturing.

So join them for a morning of fun in our beautiful woodland.

A beautiful morning in the gentle welcoming atmosphere of the woods, around a fire, with activities for both parents and children throughout the changing seasons.

Every Monday from 10.00am to 12.00 noon, whatever the weather. They meet in the car park and walk to the Elf camp. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the site.

Their group leader is Waldorf Early years teacher and so you can expect balanced between child led exploration and fun and some adult led activities. Whilst they always bring activity ideas along each week, the group is very much child-led, and often goes in different directions which is part of the fun.

Group flows with a regular and predictable rhythm, and the session includes a woodland walk, sitting together for snack, crafts for children and adults and circle time with seasonal songs and rhythmical verses and movement.

Please bring simple wholesome snack to share.The snack, prepared by adults and children is shared together around the table or fire.

Every Monday until 20th August 2019 from 10.00am.

Contact Creative Roots on 0750535316

Urban Tree Challenge: 130,000 trees to be planted across England as part of £10m project.

Anyone can apply to the fund but the project must have the greatest environmental and social benefits possible.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund will provide grants that will be made available over the next two years to green urban areas,in an effort to try an meet the government’s target to plant one million trees by 2022. The scheme will be open to individual’s, local authorities and charities, and will be administered by the forestry commission. The fund will pay for the planting of trees and for the first three years of their upkeep. Talking about the scheme, Mr Gove said: “Trees are vital in the fight against climate change, which is why we must go further and faster to increase planting rates. We need trees lining the streets of our cities and towns, not only to green and shade them but to ensure that we remain connected to the wonders of the natural world and the health and wellbeing benefits that it brings us”.

Sir William Worsley, the government’s tree champion said: “Trees are the lifeblood of our nation and it is more important than ever to ensure they are rooted not only in our countryside, but in our towns and cities too. The benefit of planting urban trees are endless, and I encourage anyone with the ability to apply for this fund to get involved and help green our towns and cities “. The government says that the grant is going to be delivered as a challenge fund so it will require matching funding from applicants.

The chair of the Forestry Commission, Sir Harry Studholme, said: “I am delighted the Forestry Commission have been asked to deliver The Urban Tree Challenge Fund. The fund is an important part of the work that the Forestry Commission is doing to expand England’s tree and woodland cover. It allows us to plant more trees much closer to where people live and work, and where the many benefits of trees make the most difference. We look forward to lots of new planting happening this autumn”.The launch of the fund is part of the government’s ‘Year of Green Action’ to help people connect with, protect and enhance nature and is part of a 25 year environment plan, which aims to instil a legacy for future generations.

Reference: Sky News 19th May 2019.

Tree Medicine Tree Magic by Ellen Evert Hopman (get signed copies from http://www.elleneverthopman.com via PayPal ) is an outstanding book for anyone who wants to learn about and deepen their working with trees. In the book you will find poetry, folk lore, herbal lore, Native American lore, mythology, druidic insights, practical and medicinal uses of nineteen of the most common trees in North America and Europe. These nineteen trees include Oak, Pine, Ash, Willow, Holly, Hawthorn, Hazel, Birch, Rowan, Apple, Eucalyptus, Elm, Maple, Chestnut, Cedar, Poplar, Larch, Walnut and Elder.
Hopman’s love and connection with trees definitely shines through each page, and as a master herbalist, homeopath, and druid – the book is not only informative but full of wisdom. In the introduction Hopman writes her intention for the book, “I wish to remind the world of the beauty and poetry of the large trees that are being decimated everywhere to make room for parking lots and shopping malls, to make paper and wood products, and through the destruction of rainforests and wildlands. My second intention is to bring to public awareness how useful natural medicines are, how easy they are to prepare, and how available they are year round in our back yards.”
She definitely succeeds in showing how easy and practical it is to work with trees, providing many recipes and remedies throughout the book. Despite the plethora of information provided within Tree Medicine Tree Magic, the book is written in such a clear and easy-to-follow style that makes this book accessible to anyone of any experience level. This new second edition put out by Pendraig press is revised and updated from the original and has a much deserved upgrade design-wise from the original first edition and includes beautiful full page colored botanical drawings of each tree, which is incredibly helpful.” Review by Mat Auryn