The Secret Life of Trees

Living in Canada I tend to take trees for granted because they are everywhere. Trees are a big part of the landscape and daily life of Canadians. I couldn’t imagine this country without trees. It would be simply a lot of rocks and water.

I learned something interesting recently about trees; their roots do not go deep down into the ground like we often think. Actually, the roots are fairly shallow and spread outwards from the base often forming a network with other nearby trees. New research by a scientist also shows that trees communicate with each other through this network of roots. Kinda cool, but not surprising. Humans have for very long thought that they were the only living species that had the ability to communicate intelligently and to react to the world around us. As scientists continue to study our world and its inhabitants we learn just how intelligent many living things are, not just us. Perhaps what sets us apart from other species on this planet is the fact that human’s impact on the ecosystems of earth is greater than any other species. Which would then place us with the responsibility as caretakers. We are not very good caretakers; I think most of you would agree.

I also learned that trees are relatively new to earths history, having appeared only during the Devonian period, between 350 and 420 million years ago. Humans first appeared around 2 million years ago. Whales around 50 million years ago. And the Canadian Shield is dated at 3.96 billion years ago a fact which is really cool when you’re standing on a portion of the rock in Northern Canada.

I guess as humans, we are the newbies to the planet.

I could spend hours watching, drawing, painting, and talking about trees. They captured my imaginations as a child, and they continue to fascinate me today. The more I learn about trees the more I realize they, and every other living thing is as unique and individual as we are.   

I don’t really have a closing for this blog. I simply just wanted to spend some time considering trees, their value, and their individualism.

Enjoy your day!