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Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest QUOTES

Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest QUOTES

1 " Plants are attuned to one another's strengths and weaknesses, elegantly giving and taking to attain exquisite balance. There is grace in complexity, in actions cohering, in sum totals. "

― Suzanne Simard , Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

2 " Such a marvel, the tenacity of the buds to surge with life every spring, to greet the lengthening days and warming weather with exuberance, no matter what hardships were brought by winter. "

― Suzanne Simard , Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

3 " I don’t presume to grasp Aboriginal knowledge fully. It comes from a way of knowing the earth—an epistemology—different from that of my own culture. It speaks of being attuned to the blooming of the bitterroot, the running of the salmon, the cycles of the moon. Of knowing that we are tied to the land—the trees and animals and soil and water—and to one another, and that we have a responsibility to care for these connections and resources, ensuring the sustainability of these ecosystems for future generations and to honor those who came before. Of treading lightly, taking only what gifts we need, and giving back. Of showing humility toward and tolerance for all we are connected to in this circle of life. But what my years in the forestry profession have also shown me is that too many decision-makers dismiss this way of viewing nature and rely only on select parts of science. The impact has become too devastating to ignore. We can compare the condition of the land where it has been torn apart, each resource treated in isolation from the rest, to where it has been cared for according to the Secwepemc principal of k̓wseltktnews (translated as “we are all related”) or the Salish concept of nə́c̓aʔmat ct (“we are one”). We must heed the answers we’re being given. "

― Suzanne Simard , Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

4 " I loved maps; they led to adventure, discovery. "

― Suzanne Simard , Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

5 " We chattered about the implications for farms: if legumes passed nitrogen to corn, for instance, we could mix crops and stop having to pollute the soil with fertilizers and herbicides. "

― Suzanne Simard , Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

6 " I’d learned to deal with conflict by running from it. I was terrible at standing my ground, never mind giving talks. "

― Suzanne Simard , Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

7 " from a different fungal species. More than a million exist on earth, about six times the number of plant species, with only about 10 percent of fungal species identified "

― Suzanne Simard , Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

8 " There is no moment too small in the world. Nothing should be lost. Everything has a purpose, and everything is in need of care. This is my creed. Let us embrace it. We can watch it rise. Just like that, at any time—all the time—wealth and grace will soar. "

― Suzanne Simard , Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

9 " How had the trees weathered the changing cycles of growth and dormancy, and how did this compare to the joys and hardships my family had endured in a fraction of the time? "

― Suzanne Simard , Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest