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Writer's pictureBarbara Aspland-Wolf

'Finding the Mother Tree Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest' by Suzanne Simard



Ms. Simard is a scientist, parent, partner, and speaker for the plants. She hails from British Columbia, Canada but her work has had a profound influence on forest ecology and lumber practices worldwide.


While reading this book you will gain an understanding of logging and forestry history, which may lead to your understanding of the current decreased lumber and supply chains as well as increased costs. You will learn what it was like to be a female, and may still be, in a mostly male-dominated industry. You will then get to hear Ms. Simard’s story of why lumber-designated trees were failing, continue to fail, and how she set out to find the source and possible solutions. Sounds too technical? Not at all, this is a story within a story.


The interactive bond between birch and Douglas fir is a marvel. One gives in the beginning while the other gives later on. Douglas fir is a very important lumber tree but planting only what is wanted and eliminating everything else so they survive has actually led to their demise. Diversity and different types of mycelia help with forest health. Ms. Simard takes us on an incredible journey that shows how this process was uncovered.


What is a Mother Tree? I did not realize I had seen one until I read this book. I don’t want to spoil the story for you by giving it away. Did you know there are Wolf trees? I have seen Wolf Trees, but reading this story helped me to understand what that name means.


This is a story of Ms. Simard’s journey to understand trees, as living beings, communicators, and healers-all told through the lens of scientific research, forestry, and that process we learned in high school science classes called the scientific method.


If you are an outdoor enthusiast, ecologist, gardener, inquisitive reader, or traveler this is a must read.


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