The deep ecology of trees : Health Patio

The deep ecology of trees

by Health Patio

Around 1900 there were 11 ancient oaks left; now only 6 of them remain, but they belong to the oldest of Germany.

Book review: Remarkable Trees of the World by Thomas Pakenham.
ISBN 0393049116
Each tree is an individual being, and the photographs are like portraits of wonder, awe, and respect. This nonfiction narrative bring his travels to visit trees to life. Pakenham, and his readers, experience the ecological and historical contexts of trees, and we feel like we are meeting a favorite relative we haven’t gotten together with in a long time.

Tim Flannery of The New York Review of Books (and a zoologist at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia) said in his review: Pakenham captures the trees’ character expertly in his text and photographs.

Human habitat: Trees may lower cost of health care
Part of trees’ value is intangible. It’s presence is deeply ingrained in humans from our distant past. Kim Coder, a forestry professor with the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forest Resources said, “When people see trees around them they just feel that’s where they ought to be,” he said. “When I go home and walk through my yard, for instance, I lose all of the aggressiveness and tension of the drive home.”

It is this holistic effect that whole, living, swaying-in-the wind trees have on people who are ill. There have been some studies dealing with hospital patients and trees. The New York Times reported some research shows, for example, that patients who can see trees instead of cars from their windows recover more quickly.

In the news: Newark, New Jersey. A year-long 1000 tree give-away project was announced today by Greater Newark Conservancy and the Jewish National Fund to celebrate 20 years as leaders in environmental education. The big giveaway kicks off Saturday with a Tree Festival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the center, 32 Prince St., Newark.