Up until early 2016, I blogged as cybercrofter.
More good things bears do in the woods
by Mandy Haggith - 17:36 on 08 April 2017
There are a couple of fascinating videos that I've been pointed to repeatedly over the past couple of weeks.
The first one (here) is Suzanne Simard talking about trees communicating with each other. It's full of fascinating research about the ways that trees in a forest co-operate, passing carbon from strong trees to weaker trees.
The underground network of forest fungi, interconnecting trees, is without doubt a world we have yet to fully understand, and the other video I've been pointed to several times is by fungi expert, Paul Stamets (here).
Paul Stamets message is really about how forest fungi help bees, but I also learned something new about bears from his film. When they scratch trees, they help to provide the conditions needed for some bracket fungi that have remarkable anti-viral properties. So what looks like damage by bears actually turns out to be healing. I add this to my list of good things that bears do in the woods!
Next week I'll be speaking at the Memory of Trees conference. I'm looking forward to learning lots more about trees, and to meeting other writers who study tree lore and celebrate trees in literature. I'll be talking about tree poetry, and will read from my tree poem pamphlet, A-B-Tree.
As I type, birch and rowan buds are bursting, at last, and the willows are fluffy with catkins.
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