Trees are perhaps our most generous companions in nature. Humans have found nourishment in their nutrient-rich fare, shelter in their limbs, healing in their medicinal compounds, protection as they shade us and absorb harmful pollutants, and wonder and comfort in their presence. Research has amply confirmed what has long been intuited: trees hold the key to both the health of the planet and the wellbeing of all life.
Over the full span of human existence, trees have provided us with essential fuel to keep us warm and essential shade to keep us cool. They’ve provided homes to most animals on Earth—from some of our largest land mammals like bears and leopards, to every species of bird, to the smallest of insects. Trees have also provided us with most of the material used for our own housing—roofs, walls, floors, cabinets, and furniture. The boats used to explore all corners of the planet were made from trees, and we still rely on their wood for watercraft.
Trees are a critical source of food for humans and other living creatures. Aside from producing most of the fruits and nuts we eat, the bark, leaves, twigs, seeds, pollen, roots, flowers and sap from trees offer an abundance of edible items. Without the tree, we wouldn’t have apples, pears, apricots, pineapples, oranges, lemons, limes, and bananas, or any of our favorite nuts. Nor would we have chocolate treats, or maple syrup for our pancakes, or hot cider on a wintry cold day. Living on air, sun, water, and soil, trees themselves are not greedy consumers of scarce resources. Although trees can drink a great deal of water, more than 95% of that water is released from their leaves and bark lenticels back into the atmosphere.
Trees also remain one of our most important health providers. As the very lungs of our planet, no life form does more to keep our atmosphere clean and to combat global warming than the tree, by removing carbon dioxide from the air, storing carbon, and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. From medicinal trees that human societies have relied on for thousands of years for life-saving medicine to urban trees that shade city dwellers from dangerously high temperatures, trees are healers of the planet and people. Tree extracts contain a variety of bioactive compounds that help with everything from managing pain to staunching bleeding, sterilizing wounds, strengthening our immune systems, soothing our nervous systems and more. Walking through trees, especially in an old-growth forest, one is immersed in an air bath of natural forest biochemicals released as a fine aerosol mist. These tree aerosols have anti-cancer properties, improve circulation and decrease high blood pressure, and also have antibiotic, antifungal and anti-rheumatic effects.
It is also impossible to imagine humanity’s creative accomplishments in the absence of trees. Paper made from trees remains at the heart of almost every creative endeavor—from novel and poetry writing, to musical compositions and paintings, to architectural drawings. Many of our most precious musical instruments—from Bosendorfer pianos to Stradivari's violins—are made from the humble tree. We would not know anything about da Vinci’s genius, or Beethoven’s, had they not had paper to preserve their masterpieces.
Paper is also at the heart of all legal, financial and business transactions, from wills and contracts to the currencies used to transact business throughout every country in the world. The world’s most important documents—holy books, peace treaties, and the constitutions of all the world’s nations—also require paper to maintain and preserve their authority.
For some years now, a revolution has been taking place in the scientific understanding of trees, confirming an alertness and sophistication in their behavior and social interactions that was not fully appreciated before. Increasingly, we are discovering that trees form communities and alliances that nurture and protect one another. Forest trees have evolved to live in cooperative, interdependent relationships, maintained by communication and a kind of collective intelligence.
But on a daily basis, perhaps the trees’ most precious gifts to us are their beauty and song. Trees are our most intimate contact with nature, filling us with wonder in their display of miraculous life and growth. They astonish us with their beauty in all seasons of the year—from the sweet blossoms of the sakura and dogwood heralding the arrival of spring, to the outrageous palettes of gold, red, and violet offered up by so many trees with autumn’s approach. Even their reflections on ponds and rivers are dazzling. Trees teach us to respect age and patience. And perhaps there is no music offered up by nature that is more soothing and embracing than the singing of trees themselves—their gentle caressing whispers, their baritone rustles, their chorus of stirrings and swooshes, and even their bass rumbles and roars.
This collection of tree scapes, captured from around the world, is a modest ode to Earth’s trees and their many blessings.
Over the full span of human existence, trees have provided us with essential fuel to keep us warm and essential shade to keep us cool. They’ve provided homes to most animals on Earth—from some of our largest land mammals like bears and leopards, to every species of bird, to the smallest of insects. Trees have also provided us with most of the material used for our own housing—roofs, walls, floors, cabinets, and furniture. The boats used to explore all corners of the planet were made from trees, and we still rely on their wood for watercraft.
Trees are a critical source of food for humans and other living creatures. Aside from producing most of the fruits and nuts we eat, the bark, leaves, twigs, seeds, pollen, roots, flowers and sap from trees offer an abundance of edible items. Without the tree, we wouldn’t have apples, pears, apricots, pineapples, oranges, lemons, limes, and bananas, or any of our favorite nuts. Nor would we have chocolate treats, or maple syrup for our pancakes, or hot cider on a wintry cold day. Living on air, sun, water, and soil, trees themselves are not greedy consumers of scarce resources. Although trees can drink a great deal of water, more than 95% of that water is released from their leaves and bark lenticels back into the atmosphere.
Trees also remain one of our most important health providers. As the very lungs of our planet, no life form does more to keep our atmosphere clean and to combat global warming than the tree, by removing carbon dioxide from the air, storing carbon, and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. From medicinal trees that human societies have relied on for thousands of years for life-saving medicine to urban trees that shade city dwellers from dangerously high temperatures, trees are healers of the planet and people. Tree extracts contain a variety of bioactive compounds that help with everything from managing pain to staunching bleeding, sterilizing wounds, strengthening our immune systems, soothing our nervous systems and more. Walking through trees, especially in an old-growth forest, one is immersed in an air bath of natural forest biochemicals released as a fine aerosol mist. These tree aerosols have anti-cancer properties, improve circulation and decrease high blood pressure, and also have antibiotic, antifungal and anti-rheumatic effects.
It is also impossible to imagine humanity’s creative accomplishments in the absence of trees. Paper made from trees remains at the heart of almost every creative endeavor—from novel and poetry writing, to musical compositions and paintings, to architectural drawings. Many of our most precious musical instruments—from Bosendorfer pianos to Stradivari's violins—are made from the humble tree. We would not know anything about da Vinci’s genius, or Beethoven’s, had they not had paper to preserve their masterpieces.
Paper is also at the heart of all legal, financial and business transactions, from wills and contracts to the currencies used to transact business throughout every country in the world. The world’s most important documents—holy books, peace treaties, and the constitutions of all the world’s nations—also require paper to maintain and preserve their authority.
For some years now, a revolution has been taking place in the scientific understanding of trees, confirming an alertness and sophistication in their behavior and social interactions that was not fully appreciated before. Increasingly, we are discovering that trees form communities and alliances that nurture and protect one another. Forest trees have evolved to live in cooperative, interdependent relationships, maintained by communication and a kind of collective intelligence.
But on a daily basis, perhaps the trees’ most precious gifts to us are their beauty and song. Trees are our most intimate contact with nature, filling us with wonder in their display of miraculous life and growth. They astonish us with their beauty in all seasons of the year—from the sweet blossoms of the sakura and dogwood heralding the arrival of spring, to the outrageous palettes of gold, red, and violet offered up by so many trees with autumn’s approach. Even their reflections on ponds and rivers are dazzling. Trees teach us to respect age and patience. And perhaps there is no music offered up by nature that is more soothing and embracing than the singing of trees themselves—their gentle caressing whispers, their baritone rustles, their chorus of stirrings and swooshes, and even their bass rumbles and roars.
This collection of tree scapes, captured from around the world, is a modest ode to Earth’s trees and their many blessings.
© Lynn Savarese