Environmental Book Club discussion

Hi everyone,

Today is book discussion day! Please add your comments and thoughts below (feel free to add at a later date when you're ready).

Here are our suggested discussion questions:

1. What was your overall impression of the book and the author's writing style?

2. What did you find most interesting or surprising— in reading about the hidden life of trees?

3. Wohlleben chose to use language that anthropomorphized trees so that we might understand them better- did you think this was effective?

5. When was the last time you really stopped to look at and appreciate a tree/forest? Has your perspective changed after reading this book? Describe your experience.

6. We learn how important trees are to our own survival (transporting water, storing carbon, etc) yet they are often underrated/under-appreciated unless for their monetary value as a commodity- how might we get more people to see the true value of a forest?

7. Share a quote (or a few!) that really stood out to you while reading this book.

8. What will you do to protect trees after reading this book? How could you get others involved?

We can’t wait to see what you thought of The Hidden Life of Trees!

ugh well I typed this all out then it got deleted. SOOO with a little less detail.

I enjoyed the book, I thought it had a lot of amazing and informative information throughout. I felt like the author had a very soothing voice. I would love to see this made into a mini docu-series. It was a bit dry and slow to read through though.

I found the most interesting part was hearing about the trees' "screaming". I've heard about their communication but I was surprised to hear they're on their own wavelength. I wonder if any animals can hear it.

I always think anthropomorphizing anything makes it so much more relatable to people. It helps people. to relate to them and therefore want to help them. So yes, very effective.

I live in a desert so there aren't a lot of forests near me. I do love and appreciate trees when I see them. I can't wait to explore some.

It's hard but just sharing the information we have helps. Maybe a Christmas tree campaign or celebrity "endorsement" would help share the news.

“There are more life forms in a handful of forest soil than there are people on the planet. A mere teaspoonful contains many miles of fungal filaments. All these work the soil, transform it, and make it so valuable for the trees.”

“Every species want to survive, and each takes from the others what it needs. All are basically ruthless, and the only reason everything doesn't collapse is because there are safeguards against those who demand more than their due.”

I try to donate and do what I can but it's most important to spread the knowledge.

Also, if you liked this one you should check out Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants by Jane Goodall too.

So I haven’t actually finished the book yet (having a slow one this month) but I will base it on what I’ve read so far!

1. I’m really enjoying the book and I like his style, it reminds me a little bit of Braiding Sweetgrass in that it is quite meditative and speaks of plants like they are just as conscious as we are as humans. I will say I’ve found it a bit harder to read and get through than some of the others but I’m not sure if it’s just because I’ve had a busy month. I think it has confirmed that nature books aren’t my favourite type of environmental book to read, even though I love nature! I tend to prefer the ‘bigger picture’ books with more hard hitting solutions and get through them quicker- though maybe this is a sign that I need to slow down a bit more!
2. Even though I’ve just said I found it hard to read, I did find so many of the facts so interesting and surprising (if only I could concentrate better to make them sink in!) Especially the ones about how trees work together as a forest and store carbon differently depending on how old they are.
3. I actually have polarising thoughts about this. I don’t always agree with anthropomorphising plants and animals as I think sometimes it makes us believe other living beings have the same requirements of humans, and keeps the hierarchy that the world evolves around humans when it shouldn’t. (as well as being unsure how scientifically based the facts are) BUT saying that I do think it worked really well in this book and I don’t think he would have got us engaged as well without it.
4. We are lucky enough to have a small wood behind our house and I definitely do think differently looking at the trees now and appreciating how the whole ecosystem functions. I need to make sure I continue this.
5. I think more and more people are understanding the importance of forests especially in fighting climate change, but I worry the focus is on growing new trees (especially for carbon offsetting) which certainly has a place but I think more awareness needs to be made about preserving the forests we already have, especially the older they are- in the UK this means keeping a focus on HS2 and supporting anti HS2 groups!
6. “An organism that is too greedy and takes too much without giving anything in return destroys what it needs for life.” Purely because of the clear parallels to what humans are doing.
7. I’d like to do a lot from (as mentioned above) supporting groups that fight against deforestation, to supporting trees in our own backyard- I’d love to get involved with some guerrilla tree planting! Look forward to hearing what other peoples ideas are!

Sammi wrote: "ugh well I typed this all out then it got deleted. SOOO with a little less detail.

I enjoyed the book, I thought it had a lot of amazing and informative information throughout. I felt like the au..."

Sammi! Thanks for being one of our few participants in the discussion this time around. I hope you enjoyed the book. If you want to check it out there is a documentary (but you have to pay for it I'm pretty sure) called Intelligent Trees that is based on this book. I'm definitely going to try and watch it sometime soon. Let me know if you do!

I was also surprised to learn about their screaming! I had no idea how impressive and complex tree communities really are- I appreciate them so much more now. I find it really interesting and cool to think about how other organisms communicate- even if we as humans can't hear or fully comprehend.

I am totally on board with spreading knowledge and information. Of course, there are great groups doing great things and if we can get more people involved I think that's so important, but how can we get involved in a meaningful way if we don't fully understand what is happening and how valuable trees are to our own survival? So yes, I think education is a vital first step!

Thanks for being here! Glad you mostly enjoyed the book :)

Adrienne wrote: "Sammi wrote: "ugh well I typed this all out then it got deleted. SOOO with a little less detail.

I enjoyed the book, I thought it had a lot of amazing and informative information throughout. I fe..."

Oh wow thank you for letting me know about the documentary I'll definitely look for that asap!!

Thanks for another great month, looking forward to the next reads !

Fran wrote: "So I haven’t actually finished the book yet (having a slow one this month) but I will base it on what I’ve read so far!

1. I’m really enjoying the book and I like his style, it reminds me a little..."

Hey Fran!

It's awesome you responded even though you didn't finish the book. I hope more people will do that in the future! ;)
I think it was nice to read a nature book for change (as I think I was feeling so overwhelmed by big picture world /life ) but I definitely agree with you that I get a lot more out of bigger picture/connections books. The nice thing about this group is that we can really go any direction we want as it's all really connected!


Really interesting point about the anthropomorphizing- I had never thought of it in that way. I think it worked for me because it was a way to understand in a language that I can relate to more easily- but you're right! (Humans are NOT the center of the universe nor should we be making everything all about us)

Tell me more about guerrilla tree planting! I am so out of the loop when it comes to forest protection and tree conservation, etc. but this book did really solidify the importance of trees for me and that we should really be preserving older trees/forests in addition to continuing the planting of new ones. This book just really made me slow down and really LOOK at trees and not just take them for granted as I have most of my life. What's the forest like near your house? What kind of trees?

Anyway, such great thoughts as always. :)

Hey everyone!
Maybe no one really liked this book as much as I did this month - but I thought it was a much-needed reprieve from most of the books I usually read. I am also so fortunate that I live in such a lush landscape, where trees are everywhere and I have access to a lot of really gorgeous forests. I definitely have been taking trees for granted! I also got ahold of the illustrated edition from my local library (which I am seriously considering buying- would make a great coffee table book!) which had some amazing photos and was a lot easier to get through than the original version. If anyone has access to this, I really recommend it!

The most impactful fact/concept from this book was the communities that trees form and how their survival depends on others. I have been really motivated to focus my efforts within my own community and reading about the interconnectedness of a forest was the extra reminder I needed. As individualistic as our modern societies have become, we cannot survive alone.

I did appreciate Wohlleben's anthropomorphization of trees, as it helped me understand them better. Here's a quote that stood out to me: “Among other things, they get worked up about carrying over findings in similar situations with animals, and at the end of the day, about how this threatens to blur the boundary between plants and animals. And so what? What would be so awful about that?”

Overall, I am so appreciative of this book and what it tries to do. Life is moving so fast, our news cycle is so overwhelming, we are expected to be constantly productive, and all of these things make it so hard to slow down and appreciate the slow growth and life that a tree lives. Slow doesn't mean bad. I hope I will continue to learn more lessons from trees and nature and be able to share them with others.

I hope everyone is staying safe! I'd love to get involved with a local group called Friends of Trees that plants and maintains trees all over the city (Portland, OR)- but I'd be excited to learn more about conservation efforts for old-growth forests and preventing deforestation projects. If anyone has any cool leads feel free to share!

Happy Reading everyone!

I don't have much to add as I read this back in 2018? I was going to re-read it via audiobook, but life!

1. I really enjoyed this book. It had a good balance of facts or storytelling. And, it reminded me a lot of The Nature Of Things (a long-running Canadian science show, which just so happens to have done a episode on tree communication).

2. I studied biology and a remember learning about how plants communicate and such. But, it was so delightful to read about how much more we know now (I was in uni 20 years ago) and to get down into the details.

3. Yes, I think that the anthropomorphization of the trees was a good choice. I've read similar things (essays and such) and even I, a nature love, found it hard to "connect." The truth is that humans like to think of themselves and of things they can relate to. So, using this method helps to pull in the reader and humanize the trees in a way that may result in more sympathy (i.e., climate action or conservation support).

5. Thanks to the pandemic, I haven't spent as much time outdoors as I'd like (I live in an apartment and try to avoid running into people). But, I moved this summer to a unit that overlooks the river valley and a couple trees. My favourite part of the day was first thing in the morning when a local crow would caw, caw, caw in the tree just outside my living room window. The tree's still there, but I miss the crow. Anyway, thinking about this book actually makes me feel a bit sad for trees lining the sidewalk because they're so constrained and only have a couple of neighbours. ... Sigh, I kind of want to go hug a tree now.

6. I'm feeling super pessimistic about humans valuing trees (clearly our last book's optimism didn't stick with me for long). I do think that part of this is because I just finished the bonus book, The Overstory and it reminded me of Greenwood, which has a horrible future where all the trees are dying and the climate crisis is terrible and people are still stupid. So, I don't know.

7. To be honest, I didn't note any quotes when I first read it, but here are two that I found online which I like:

“An organism that is too greedy and takes too much without giving anything in return destroys what it needs for life.”

“If we want to use forests as a weapon in the fight against climate change, then we must allow them to grow old, which is exactly what large conservation groups are asking us to do.”

“... a tree can be only as strong as the forest that surrounds it.”

8. I dunno. I want to say that I'll get back into volunteering, but the pandemic is still an issue (hopefully, I can in the summer). I do make monthly donations to a relevant organization, but I think I could also review my current habits to see what, if anything, I can do to continue to reduce by paper product needs. I'm a firm believer in reusing as much as possible, but I'm sure I could do just a little bit more. I have been meaning to get a bidet for a while. Maybe it's time to do the research and get one.

Sammi wrote: "ugh well I typed this all out then it got deleted. SOOO with a little less detail.

I enjoyed the book, I thought it had a lot of amazing and informative information throughout. I felt like the au..."

I really enjoyed Seeds of Hope. I may re-read it.

Fran wrote: "So I haven’t actually finished the book yet (having a slow one this month) but I will base it on what I’ve read so far!

1. I’m really enjoying the book and I like his style, it reminds me a little..."

Yeah, you make a good point about anthropomorphising plants and animals. I love it, but I also forget that I respect nature for what it actually is and can jump between the two without loosing sight of the important things (like how trees aren't people and have their own needs, etc.). But, a lot of people can't extend beyond what experience as humans.

Adrienne wrote: "Hey everyone!
Maybe no one really liked this book as much as I did this month - but I thought it was a much-needed reprieve from most of the books I usually read. I am also so fortunate that I live..."

I loved the book and it actually reminded me that I have one co-written by David Suzuki (Canadian environmentalist) that I've been meaning to read for ages.

Just wanted to add that there are a million "trees can talk" documentaries, presentations, etc. and one that I enjoyed (partly because I'm very biased towards The Nature of Things) was What Trees Talk About: A revealing look at the secret life of trees (link to YouTube - not sure if people outside of Canada can watch it). You can also just search "trees talk" in youtube to find all kinds of nerdy tree videos.