For the Trees

As a child, I spent a fair amount of time among the trees. There were a few years when I could be found on my own escorted by a neighborhood dog named "Bear" (because he had the head and jaws the size of one) through the Arnold Arboretum passionately in search of police horse tracks. I loved horses so much just finding their mere hoof prints made my heart race and my mind wonder about how recently the track could have been left.

Today is World Forest Day today and Forest Ethics has a great online action center. Take their survey, tell them why forests matter to you and get practical information like details on paper grades or companies that are refusing to take action on their direct mail. The executive director, Todd Paglia has a nice blog post entitled I am the Lorax. And so are you. It reminds me of one of the heavier books we have around (but haven't dived into deeply yet) for my daughter, Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. I cry every time and I am not sure how I will explain it to her.

Strangely, The Lorax will be 40 years old this year. With 4 decades behind it, it has become far more profound than the Wikipedia description for it, "It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, who speaks for the trees against the greedy Once-ler." If we had groundbreaking ideas like this come to light 4 decades ago, has it made a difference? Has it affected who were are and how we think? Perhaps there is a lot to celebrate, but there is also a lot to worry about for the next generations.

Also, if you love trees and nature photos the way I do, gather your visual appetite and visit last year's 40th celebration of Earth Day post. If you love trees and cherish green spaces, another great person to connect your mind to is Frederick Law Olmstead who founded the Arnold Arboretum and many other amazing urban green spaces.

Photo:  Mount Diablo State Park, California