Trees are the only organisms that infallibly, when they die, leave the place better than they found it. This sentence is attributed by Stefano Mancuso’s students to their professor. They say it’s one of his favorite mantras.
Mancuso — a botanist who teaches at the University of Florence, Italy — has indeed spent a large portion of his professional life studying trees and has become a became a much loved popularizer with the stated aim of changing people’s perception of trees. That a tree generally does not exploit the soil where it finds itself but rather gives back nutrients to it is information that even an untrained person like myself can find. But we need somebody like Mancuso to make us see its relevance.
I did not realize before — until I read about Mancuso’s research — that today there is a completely new generation of active botanists who are quite radically different in their outlook than Carl Linnaeus or Gregor Mendel, or even Charles Darwin, even though of course they stand on their shoulders. Mancuso is indeed a leader in plant neurobiology, a branch of studies dedicated to understanding the transmission of information within a vegetable organism, the behavior of plants, and even their intelligence.
Themes that were taboo just about 20 years ago have captured the imagination of the scientific community as well as the people in the street. Mancuso poses simple yet philosophical questions that make people think deeply. His research on plant roots has discovered a number of substances active within trees which have analogies in structure and purpose with neurotransmitters in animal organisms.
Obviously plants do not have brains or any nervous system, but they appear to search solutions to problems — both as individuals and as species — and often they solve them, such as when they develop chemicals which protect them from insects or move their roots in helpful rather than unhelpful directions. Therefore, Mancuso can ask: Isn’t problem solving a definition of intelligence?
Thinkers in the tradition of process philosophy — inaugurated by A.N. Whitehead — have long hypothesized that “freedom” exists at all levels of reality, even though at the level of plants it looks very different than human freedom, starting with the fact that their freedom of movement is very limited. Being myself trained in this school of thought, I am not surprised to learn that plants have intelligence.
Aristotle posited that all organisms, including plants, pursue their final aim, a notion that has been rejected by modern science. I feel, however, that we are now even a step beyond Aristotle, or at least we can look at plants from a very different angle than both the ancients and the moderns.
Is it too far-fetched to imagine that plants and trees have the intention to “save the planet” by cooling it, besides giving nourishment to so many animals including humans? Just posing this question makes me understand how we can and should move beyond the issue of humankind “saving the forests” — which means simply to stop destroying them voluntarily and cynically.
Do plants pursue intentions? Can intention exist without consciousness and mind? Although we usually answer in the negative, these questions should be pondered more deeply. Not necessarily to be answered in the positive, but to revise our outlook on reality, including the meaning of freedom, intelligence, and intention.
Architects such as Stefano Boeri have spent years developing buildings and urban solutions which feature lots of plants and trees, in stark contrast to modern architecture. His “vertical forest” in Milan has received wide acclaim as well as criticisms because of its maintenance costs and its overall snobbery. It is surely not an option for most people.
Stefano Mancuso has in mind much more radical yet simple proposals which could affect the whole population of cities. In a recent interview, he stated that Italian cities have seen in 60 years an overall temperature rise of 3C — which is huge for such a short time — resulting in the present difficulties for people’s health and well-being in summer. But a city like Torino — because of its shape — could easily convert 20% of its streets to urban parks, which would bring back the temperatures to an acceptable measure.
Trees do not have brains. Does this mean that trees cannot save us?
My own linden tree — or rather, the linden tree which lives in front of my house — provides much-needed shade and a patch of green that is healing to the soul. When it is blooming, a host of bees comes and sings for days. At the slightest gust of wind, its branches and foliage make music for me.
Yesterday, a few of its branches were cut because an agricultural machine belonging to the neighbour found it difficult to drive under them. I was in pain, but we managed to do as little damage as possible. This tree is already giving me and my guests a lot. Does she “know” it? Is that what defines her intention?
Banner Image: Central Park is surrounded by the skyscrapers of Manhattan in New York City. Photo by FEMA/Kevin Wilsey and the New Jersey Army National Guard (NJANG) Aviation Program on Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Queries for Contemplation
What is your relationship with trees? Has your perception of them changed over time?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Natural Grace: Dialogues on creation, darkness, and the soul in spirituality and science
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Matthew Fox and Adam Bucko, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation
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14 thoughts on “Will Trees Save Us?”
I planted a Welsh hillside with trees 30 years’ ago and I have a great friendship with a mature beech tree that I see from my bedroom window. I lie in bed and gaze at my dear tree and we exchange loving thoughts.
GG, Spectacular meditation on trees, thank you so much. My little back and front garden is central to my home life in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland as I enter my 76th year this 2nd August coming. You certainly pulled at my heart strings with your insights into trees, which also applies I expect to shrubs and bushes and plants of all kinds; the butterflies and bees also make regular visits. The other day a butterfly landed on my shoulder and I stood transfixed by it for several minutes. There is so much to celebrate and love in God’s majestic nature.
Thank you for Stefano Mancuso’s eye-opening remarks!
Trees have started “saving” me when, a preteen child, I discovered an old hollow oak tree in the countryside: I would regularly climb up its branches to reach the opening of its woody womb into which I would slide down to spend unforgettable moments gazing at a blue disk of sky above and feeling safe in that intimate connection with the “other than human” world. That connection has never been broken since, and I take to heart Hesse’s comment that “trees, to me, have always been the most compelling preachers.” I count the nurse logs I have observed in the NorthWestern Pacific Rim among the midwives of grace and sacredness Matthew was writing about in a recent DM. Will trees save us? They could, but ONLY if we surrender our insane and deadly claim of superiority. What would we think of a mirror that would claim to be superior because it can reflect our image? Our power of reflection leads us to so much ego-inflation. Reflection in a rear-view mirror is useful, but safe and intelligent driving requires good peripheral vision.
few days after commenting this DM, I came across this quote from Carl Jung that directly answers the question “Will trees save us?”
“Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a bath in the sea. They shake off the fetters and allow nature to touch them.
It can be done within or without. Walking in the woods, lying on the grass, taking a bath in the sea, are from the outside; entering the unconscious, entering yourself through dreams, is touching nature from the inside and this is the same thing, things are put right again” [Carl Jung Dream Analysis: Notes on a Lecture Given in 1928-1930]
Each of us is the warden of his/her inner forest.
I am certain of one thing about trees. We are disoriented, indeed lost without them. What human that has ever lived has not known trees or about them. Relatives of humanity, of course.
Thank you for this beautiful piece about trees. I am writing a spiritual memoir ” Climbing Trees”. During various phases of my life, a tree or trees have been my companions and teachers. They have taught me about seeing from a higher perspective, our interconnection and letting go. Trees have helped me accept change and navigate grief. I plant a tree every year on arbor day.
Thank you for today’s beautiful DM about the sacredness and consciousness of living trees, and actually All Mother Nature/Gaia with all its diversity of living creatures, including ourselves as humanity and All physical/nonphysical spiritual beings/dimensions. The Cosmos is truly All Sacredly interconnected/interdependent in Our Loving Evolving Diverse Oneness from Our Living Loving Source~Creator… With the climate changes and heating of our planet with the many forest fires and earthquakes we are experiencing around our world, our planet seems to be going through galactic shifts that are Hopefully Spiritual and evolutionary in nature, including our humanity as Co-Creators….
Thank-you for this meditation, Gianluigi, wonderful. Also, thank-you Rosemary, Daniel ( love your hollow of the oak experience) and Greg for sharing. I love trees!! Not only for all the myriad of life giving scientific things they do for all creatures and the planet, but also for their relentless, mystical beauty that literally awes me every day. Nicholas of Chios said that if you don’t love trees, you don’t love God. Seems an extreme thing to say at first, but when you look at how they are literally the cornerstone of life on earth, and how the Bible begins and ends with a tree, and the sacred place they hold in many faiths, it appears old Nicholas was right. God loves trees. You can’t mindlessly, excessively destroy forests and trees, effectively hating what God loves, and then say you love God.
Wonderful and thought-provoking blog! 🌳💚 You’ve beautifully highlighted the incredible role trees play in sustaining life and inspired readers to see nature from a deeper perspective. This is truly valuable information that encourages greater respect, awareness, and care for our environment. Thank you for sharing such meaningful insights please keep writing more inspiring and educational blogs!
Thank you for this blog. So heartening that more and more modern scientists are affirming the ancient ancients’ (pre-Aristotle) relationship with, respect for, and insight into the living intelligence in trees, plants.
Magnanimous meditation, GG! Yes, humans fell trees for shelter, many things and fire, but the common sense way to procreate more trees is to plant more. The new ideas about trees neurotransmitting information that benefits their woody neighbors is very welcome, as is the recognition that Indigenous Americans regard trees as special relatives in the family of Mother Nature. And though I can’t cite a text in the Franciscan canon, it is implicit that the little poor man of Assisi felt a kinship with trees, as with Brother Sun and Sister Moon.
Oh, glorious!
We had several trees in our urban yard growing up, including fruit trees, but my absolute favorite was the huge, sprawling elm tree in our front yard. It was magnificent! And then Dutch Elm disease took it out. I was heartbroken, and searched for a new tree-mentor. I found one by the river near the train tracks — a huge cottonwood tree. It giggled when the wind blew through its canopy. They recently cut back that tree to make way for nearby buildings, and tamed the wild grass and flowers at its base. But for over 40 years, I went by that tree and said hello. It nurtured me and smiled at the world.
I have black walnut trees — and squirrels — out my window now, the edges of a park. I love the trees. The squirrels — not so much. But I won’t hurt them: they belong here. They will keep harvesting the nuts and losing them in the yard, and I will keep netting-in my plants to prevent digging in my pots.
I can’t imagine a world without trees, or one where the trees are all tamed and set in carefully nurtured spots. Trees are supposed to grow wild and free. They’re supposed to give animals a place to live, shade for bushes growing at their base, and food for many creatures. We are not their masters. We are their sisters and brothers.
Thank you for this lovely meditation!
Here is a link to an oak’s song….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlWINFfZf6Y&t=372s
How trees talk to each other | Suzanne Simard :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un2yBgIAxYs&t=9s
Have a peaceful weekend,
Rita
As a child, I loved to climb up into Grandma and Grandpa’s pear tree when it was covered in beautiful white blossoms. I would sit in the tree and take pictures of our farm place from “inside” the blossoms.
Then I was absolutely blessed to work for the U.S. Forest Service for 33 years. I planted trees, inspected tree planting, inventoried tree plantation survival rates, inventoried standing timber to calculate board feet in a timber sale. But the very best part was mapping and inventorying OLD GROWTH, the oldest, unlogged portions of a National Forest. We studied and measured the characteristics of OLD GROWTH ecosystems, their incredible values to wildlife, birds, fungi and lichens, and PEOPLE. I can still “feel” that a stand of trees is in old growth condition just by walking through and “talking with the trees.” YES! They communicate with each other, young and old, and us humans, too.