A root-and-branch study of the network that sustains our forests shows how all life is interconnected
Our relationship with the natural world is balanced on a knife-edge, which means our own lives, too, are facing an uncertain future. For the first time in history, we can draw from a compendium of scientific research that not only warns us to take better care of the Earth, but shows us how to do so. Yet still we place obstacles in our path, and the eco-apocalyptic countdown continues. What is it that stops us from taking action? Einstein once suggested that imagination is more important than knowledge, claiming that knowledge is limited while “imagination encircles the world”, and perhaps this is where the answer lies. In order to bridge the emotional chasm between the science and our ability to act, we must take what we know and reshape it into something more palatable. We must tell ourselves a story.
She recalls how some members of her profession almost laughed her out of the room on first hearing her findings
Related: Secrets of a tree whisperer: ‘They get along, they listen – they’re attuned’
Tiffany Francis-Baker has been a writer in residence at Forestry England. Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard is published by Allen Lane (£16.99). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
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