Book Review: Like a Tree: How Trees, Women, and Tree People Can Save the Planet

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This book is for anyone that cares about the future of life on this planet, especially for people like myself who admire trees. Bolen offers a larger consciousness of our connection to trees and expresses that now is the time to honor and protect them. 

The book begins with her observation that there are "tree people", and "not-tree people". A tree person has positive feelings for individual trees and an appreciation of trees as a species while the latter does not. She goes on to describe the many ways "tree people" have come to be through shared life experiences. A tree person may have childhood recollections of trees being amongst their imaginative play, a person who seeks the comfort of a tree grove during uncertain times, and may understand why someone will stand in front of a tree in order to protect it from being cut down. Bolen provides a wealth of information about tree anatomy and physiology, introduces what tropical and boreal rainforests are, their health status and efforts to save them. She calls on us readers to discover an assignment that is personal and motivated by love and says that a tree person has the potential to become a tree activist at any age. She kindly provides us with role models of 'Activism with Heart' through storytelling. 

"Women have long been defenders of our forest. They've recognized that when forests fall, the livelihoods of local communities fall with them. Animals flee, soil quality thins, floods and landslides increase, and carbon-sequestering canopies are lost. Whether planting new trees or starting sustainable economic endeavors, women are regenerating the 'lungs of the Earth'"(Like a Tree, 2011, pp. 183)

Bolen speaks about how women, like trees, are devalued and exploited and advocates that the fate of forests and women are intertwined. She informs us that deforestation combined with population growth contributes to climate change. "Might reforestation and reproductive rights go hand in hand?" She also examines the female brain circuitry, hormonal physiology, and research that supports the need for women to become a force of change because of innate talents and abilities. 

Throughout the book, Bolen uses "like" as a simile to describe the similarities between ourselves, trees and associated symbols from different perspectives. The chapter heading, "Symbolic like a tree" explores mythic, and archetypical, religious, cosmic, and personal symbols. She also invites images of trees to come to the mind, and evoke soulful memories that help us connect to our interdependence. 

"Like a Tree" has validated my role in tree activism, and I conclude with a heightened awareness of the power of collective and individual efforts.

Bare Roots: Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is a bare root tree?

A bare root tree is a tree that is harvested from the ground for the purpose of transporting it so that it can then be either re-planted or potted. For our purposes at the nursery, the bare root trees that get shipped in will be planted into 15 gallon pots.

Q: How many trees do we receive for bare roots?

We have received anywhere from 1200-1500 bare root trees for the past few bare root seasons. This number can change depending on the demand and stock remaining in our nursery. In anticipation of this large delivery, considerable time and volunteer hours have been dedicated to rearranging the trees already at the nursery in order to make room for the new ones. Despite the ample amount of new trees, our hope is to incorporate them into the nursery as smoothly as possible.

Q: Where do the bare root trees come from? How far of a distance do they travel?

The trees come from J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co., a wholesale nursery located in Canby, Oregon. The distance between San Jose and J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. is about 645 miles. You can learn more about the nursery, which distributes a significant percentage of its deciduous trees to nurseries throughout western North America and Canada, here. In order to preserve the roots, the trees are bundled in twine and transported in a refrigerated truck. The same truck also stores several other bundles of bare roots to be distributed elsewhere. This may be hard to imagine considering our delivery alone consists of almost 1,600 trees, but the trees are so efficiently bundled that several deliveries can be made in one trip! Once the trees are successfully delivered, they can either be transplanted into 15-gallon pots or planted directly into the ground. Orchards often utilize bare root trees, in part because they are convenient, efficient and economical to transport. For our purposes at Our City Forest, considering the eventual goal is to sell these trees to residents, the bare root trees will be transplanted into 15-gallon pots.

Q: Are there particular types or species of trees that fare better through the bare root process (which includes harvesting, transporting, waiting and finally, transplanting) than others?

As far as the bare roots operation goes at OCF, our team only works with deciduous trees. This is because in order to be harvested from the ground and transferred hundreds of miles away and still survive, the trees must be dormant. The bare roots season happens when it does (mid-February to early March) in order to time planting with the dormant season. This year planting is set to start on February 21st.

Q: What kind of conditions do the trees require prior to being transplanted?

Before the arrival of the 1481 trees coming in this year, a trench will be built for the purpose of keeping the trees moist and cool--and therefore alive. The trench can be pictured as something like this: A long, raised pile of well-mixed soil amendment and mulch with a channel carved directly through the middle. The trees will then be propped into the trench, roots on the downside, and the exposed roots will be subsequently covered with the surrounding mulch-soil mix. Assuming it gets watered regularly (two times a day), the trench will serve as a temporary holding space that will protect and maintain the roots of the trees until it is their time to be potted. Provision of wet and cool conditions for the roots in the time between delivery and transplanting is crucial for the trees’ chance of a smooth transition and proper development. Dry roots on the other hand lead to decreased survivability.

Q: Why are the bare root trees we receive in February so important for the nursery?
The bare roots inflow makes up a huge percentage of the nursery tree stock.  Bare roots also allows for a more diverse stock. The nursery typically orders 20-30 different species of deciduous trees; this year we will be working with 27 different species! A primary goal of the nursery, and OCF as a whole, is to practice and promote diversity in urban forestry. Because the nursery supplies its stock with environmental health in mind, and therefore an effort to evade monoculture whilst promoting diversity, receiving a wide variety of bare root trees helps to support the OCF mission. The way in which bare roots is approached at OCF embraces, and therefore helps to advance, the reality that diverse forests--and ecosystems in general--embody longevity, health and beauty. Having said this, variety in species makes it possible to plant trees in a way that will enhance the biodiversity of the urban forest. The bare roots season is also important because it represents and encourages community involvement, building new connections, and educating about why the urban forest is a special part of our everyday lives.

 Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of bare root trees?
Bare root trees are an economical and efficient way to stock the nursery. Buying trees as bare roots as opposed to already-potted trees from other nurseries is more cost-effective, especially taking into account the amount of trees we receive during bare roots. Transplanting bare root trees is efficient because these trees are much easier to transport and store than potted trees. The bare root plantings also allow for the team, and the volunteers learning from the team, to take special and specific care of each tree that they transplant (i.e. as opposed to a tree that is donated or sold to us from another nursery). In terms of disadvantages, one is that the timeline for growth can be challenging. For example, the maple, zelkova and elm tree species are typically ready to be planted about three to four months after they are potted. Ginkgo and linden trees, conversely, take longer (about 6 months) to root. This difference in development among species can cause inconvenience because certain species may not coincide with demand. Another disadvantage is that the process does not include a single evergreen tree, so the evergreen population must be supplemented from other sources.

Q: How well have the bare root trees from last year grown and developed thus far?
The survival rate among last year’s bare root stock is 95 percent. As of now, these trees are healthily rooted and ready to be planted! 

Q: What role do volunteers play in the bare roots process?
During the bare roots rush, volunteer recruitment efforts at the nursery are more important than ever! This is because there is such a large number of trees to transplant, and the OCF team can use as much help as it can get. Because of this, bare roots implements two volunteer shifts per day--one in the morning and one in the afternoon. As we are a community nursery, anyone looking for a meaningful way to help their environment is welcome to participate!

Q: How does bare roots strengthen community engagement and learning?
Bare roots is a perfect opportunity to build upon the interrelations of our San Jose community in a way that provides insight into what it takes to grow high quality trees. During bare roots, all kinds of people come together for a common cause--from corporate groups, to students, to families and friends. The aspect of community participation in bare roots is also so exciting because the same volunteers who help transplant the trees will have the opportunity later on to plant the same trees throughout their city!

Interview with AmeriCorps Service Member Emma

Meet one of our local Our City Forest (OCF) full time Americorps service members: Emma. She has been serving with OCF for three (yes, three!) terms now. Her sister used to work here at OCF as well. 

She is part of the Lawn Busters team at OCF, and is often busy designing landscapes and converting properties into beautiful native gardens. In this interview we talk about what its been like to serve with AmeriCorps for the past 3 terms, giving back to the community, and the future beyond. 

We interviewed Emma to find out more about her time with OCF.

1. Do you have a favorite shrub/tree?

   Emma: Oh my gosh that's such a good question, I think that I do. Well I have a lot of favorites, but one that just came to mind is Salvia Bee’s Bliss. It's very beautiful. A low growing sage. The bees love it, and I love the bees.
   

2. Tell us about yourself. Anything you want people to know about you?

   Emma: I’m from the Hudson Valley in New York State. I went to a small liberal arts school in the western part of North Carolina called Warren Wilson college. It's a really special school because its a work college so every student on campus also had a job on campus. That made it a really meaningful, unique experience and I really loved it. I also learned about beekeeping there, which has become a very big passion of mine since then. I’m a beekeeper and have been keeping bees for three or four years now and I started doing that working at the garden on my college campus. I was caring for the hives there. I've been a member with OCF for a year and a half now, and this is my third Americorps term at Our City Forest. 
   

3. What made you want to become an AmeriCorps member?
   Emma: I think that AmeriCorps was really appealing to me because it provides  great job experience. I also feel really inspired by giving back to the community that I’m a part of. I just wanted to try something new and engage closely with the community. 
   

4. How did you get involved with OCF?
   Emma: Well, actually, my sister was an AmeriCorps member for two years and afterwards she was hired as the Nursery Manager and she really really loved her experience and would talk to me about it a lot. I was at a transitional time in my life and I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do, so she encouraged me to apply for OCF specifically. It sounded like a lot of fun and a great experience.
   

5. What is your favorite part about being a full time service member here at Our City Forest?
   Emma: It's definitely building really strong connections with community members and volunteers. I think that's the most important thing that we do; engaging the community so that they can continue to support our mission by being more sensitive to their water usage, learning about why native plants are important, why creating ecosystems are important, the benefits of trees, and all those things. That's probably the most rewarding part for me, to be able to teach people about all those things and engage them in what we do. 
   

6. What made you want to sign on for multiple terms?
   Emma: I felt like after my first term, which was just a six month term, I was just getting started taking advantage of all the opportunities that Our City Forest has to offer. I felt like I had already learned so much in such a short amount of time, that I really had only just started to know about the plants and all the things that we do. I felt like I wasn't really done learning yet, and I've just had such a wonderful experience here and it's been so much fun and I've met so many wonderful special people that will be lifelong friends. I just cant stop serving. 
   

7. So before you started serving you had no background in urban forestry or anything related?
   Emma: I had done a bunch of landscaping work and some farming too on the garden at my campus. So that was agriculture based. But I've always been interested in plants and growing plants, just not specifically California natives.
   

8. What advice/tips would you tell someone who is interested in joining the Our City Forest AmeriCorps team?
   Emma: I would say just to take in as much as you possibly can. And, don't expect that you're going to know everything right away. Just give yourself space to learn from others and be patient with yourself. It may seem really overwhelming at first; I showed up with very little knowledge about the plants or how to plant a tree. The amount of knowledge that I’ve learned just by keeping my eyes open and being receptive to other people's perspectives has been a really really meaningful experience for me. 
   

9. Where do you see yourself taking the experience you’ve gotten from Our City Forest in the future?
   Emma: I think I'll always pursue a career that has a close community engagement aspect to it. I think that it's really really important at this time that we’re all living in to form deep connections with the communities that we’re a part of. These are skills I will use in the future no matter what I do. I also hope to pursue a career in landscaping design, and I’ve learned a lot about that by serving here.

10. Have you met someone through Our City Forest that has inspired you?
    Emma: So many people! I would say the person who has made the biggest impact on me is definitely Edgar (our Lawnbuster and Stewardship Manager). I think that he’s just a really really amazing person and a great leader and mentor. I really admire the way that he teaches people with such a peaceful attitude. He gives people space to figure things out on their own. I've just learned so much from him and I'm really grateful for that. I also really appreciate all of the other members I’ve met here too and how passionate everyone is about our common goal to make this world a better place. 

Thank you to Emma for all that you do with Our City Forest, we deeply appreciate your continued dedication and service to OCF, and wish you all the best in the future! 

If Emma’s interview inspired you to become an Americorps member, head to http://www.ourcityforest.org/americorps-openings to sign up for one of the two upcoming service terms, starting on January 14th and March 24th. Or, if you’d like to volunteer with us, you can check out various volunteering opportunities at ourcityforest.org/calendar !