How Do You Replace A 2000 Year Old Tree?

To Whom Are You Grateful 2007 Season of Gratitude Week 2

October 30th, 2007 by Nneka -- Bookmark on del.icio.us

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This post is a part of the Season of Gratitude Series. You can participate by writing a gratitude post and telling me about it. For more details, click here.

As I stepped lightly and reverently among the redwoods of the Muir Woods National Monument, this was the question I pondered. The Coast Redwood, or California Redwood as it is sometimes called, grows exclusively along the Pacific Coasts. They are over 2000 years old and grow to over 350 feet high and 20 feet wide. They are able to stay moist off the fog in the area and do not solely depend on the root system for moisture. The tannin in the redwood also makes the trees fire and insect resistant. The trees are coniferous, but also have another unique way to reproduce. When they are under stress the trees sprout burls which germinate and are ready to sprout saplings.

Muir Woods
While these trees are extremely resilient to their climate, while they have developed a reproductive system that ensures that they survive, while they rely on a communal root system for nourishment, and even armed with inherent substances to withstand fire and insects, they are vulnerable to one thing, mankind. We have managed to dwindle the Redwood forest down to 1% of its original size.

Sure, in numbers, there are many more trees. We can continue to have wood for our decks, our homes, and our offices for this generation without worrying about the trees becoming extinct. However, can we continue to consume these trees at our current rate and still have them be around for the next 7 generations, at most 700 years?

When a Redwood takes 2000 years to grow to its magnificent height and girth, can we replace it?

If we can manage to destroy an ecosystem so indigenously resilient, what does that say about our sense of connection? I’m not one to nurture nature at my expense. However, I do see a correlation between our sense of disconnect from each other and our Selves, and our disregard for the environment in which we live.

Just for today, I will pay attention to living things around me - the trees, birds, squirrels, ants, bees, dragonflies. The living things in my environment which I take for granted. Those plants and flowers with the diverse spectrum of colors. The ones that not only enhance my aesthetic life, but also help me to survive without my interference or knowledge.

Today, I am grateful for my natural surroundings. What are you grateful for?

In Spirit,
Nneka

Entry Filed under: Spirituality, Personal Development, Gratitude, Relationships and Emotional Mastery

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5 Comments Add your own

1. Pamir | November 4th, 2007 at 3:18 pm

Nneka, thank you for writing about these honorable beings. Some years ago I’d read about Discovery Tree, which was the first ever Giant Sequoia (related species) happened upon by a man during the Calif. Gold Rush. His camp then attempted to fell it by boring holes in it & had the the most difficult time (yay!). It actually fell all by itself when no one was around. Then they cut it up & put it on display for profit as an attraction.

I was so moved & outraged that I wrote an article about it, which is now being edited for republication. I’ll let you know…

When I went to my sister’s graduation in San Francisco after learning about these trees, her friend took us to the wine country & we ended up at Muir Woods. I had no idea it was Redwoods until we were almost in the park. Then I was transported into a sacred experience!
2. Steven Aitchison | November 6th, 2007 at 2:27 am

Nneka, a good reminder not to take for granted the things around us. thank you.
3. Craig Harper | November 6th, 2007 at 6:21 am

Hey Nneka,
Great post!
You are absolutely right about these beautiful trees. 2000 years can be so quicky undone by man. We have similar environmental issues here in Australia. Each day I walk out into my back yard and look at the 80 year old elm at the bottom of my garden. Like you, I am grateful for my natural surroundings.
4. Edward Mills | November 7th, 2007 at 6:25 pm

Thanks Nneka. Muir Woods and the surrounding areas were my stomping grounds for many years when I lived down in Marin. Now that I’m here in Sonoma, I’ll wonder through the Redwoods in Armstrong Woods and some of the wild spaces along the coast. You can’t replace these amazing Beings and as we lose more and more of the wild spaces in this world, it seems the world becomes a smaller and smaller place.
5. M. D. Vaden | March 13th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

It seems that the closer the trees are to big cities, the more work it takes to save the ground from trampling.

My favorite park is a long way from San Fran.

> > Grove of Titans rewoods: Jed Smith state park

I explore and hike there every few weeks.