Suzanne Simard's TED Talk: "How Trees Talk to Each Other"

Looking up at my backyard trees, sitting in the shade with the wind in my hair, I listened to Suzanne Simard's 2016 TED talk, "How Trees Talk to Each Other." Seemed a fitting environment to be absorbing her talk on the power of trees. It reminded me of my "Tree Talk" post from October 2019.

 

 

Interdependence between tree species and other plant species through their root connections was a large part of Simard's TED Talk. It also struck me in my reflections on how it's a parallel for how we are also interdependent with each other--humans to humans-- but also humans and nature. 

 

Trees, like us, learn and grow from each other on a cellular level. It adds to the resilience of forests. We too are networked together. Families. Neighborhoods. Communities. Countries. Internet connections. Human connections. Global connections. Complex systems. We need each other to learn, to grow. 

 Diversity of ideas is just like biodiversity: it makes the environment is healthier. 

To read more about Suzanne Simard, trees, and the forestry science, check out her book Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest. Or, go check out her feature from June 26, 2020's NPR Radio Hour.

 

Video from https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other; pictures from https://www.npr.org/2020/06/26/882828756/suzanne-simard-how-do-trees-collaborate