5 Ways Trees Teach Us How to Build Community

"All flourishing is mutual." - Robin Wall Kimmerer Braiding Sweetgrass.

I've had this quote engraved on my heart for some time now. In Robin's book, she is referring to the trees and how they flourish together in the grove. If one tree in the grove produces fruit, they all produce fruit.

The trees have so much to teach us about how to build resilient communities. Yet, we've been so quick to overlook the wisdom that is clearly right in front of us!

I'd like to explore five key things that trees teach us about building community:

1. Trees teach us how important it is to live in a community. Trees depend on the entire ecosystem to be able to deal with the stressors of heat, drought and cold. Similarly, people need each other to thrive. It is through the protection and shelter that we offer each other in the form of support and relationship that we become resilient to the ups and downs that life throws our way.
2. Trees teach us how to provide shelter for others. Last weekend a small turtle had found its way into my yard in a rainstorm. He waited out the rain underneath the big shade tree in my backyard. He knew he had a safe, dry place to rest while the storm was blowing around him. Likewise, the most resilient communities understand this concept and practice it often.
3. Trees collaborate with those around them. Think about how trees live in one place for hundreds of thousands of years. Because of this, their very nature is to become co-architects of their own environment. Living in a thriving ecosystem means that we are aware of all the individuals that make up the community and are open to creating meaningful connections that help everyone to reach their highest potential.
4. Trees connect us to the past, present and future. Author Suzanne Simard taught us that trees are social beings that exchange nutrients and even communicate with each other. She also discovered that trees carry memory in their rings. Memory meaning the weather of previous years or how other trees around them were. This is fascinating because as people, we hang on to the same types of memories. For instance, individuals in communities remember the storms they weathered together. Consider 2020 as an example of how communities fought together and will for years to come speak to the bond they developed during that time period.
5. Trees teach us how to live with other generations. In any given forest there are very old trees and very young trees. Older trees make up the forest canopy giving protection to the younger trees as they grow. Intergenerational reciprocity is much needed for communities to thrive. When we embrace supportive networks like this as a community, we give everyone the opportunity to grow in the way that is best for them.

In the end, trees are magical creatures that hold power to both counsel and comfort. They bring us back to our roots and share wisdom with us that surpasses what the eye can see. Trees by their very nature act collectively, not as individuals seeking out their own will. Ultimately, they remind us that what happens to one, happens to us all. Again as Robin Wall Kimmerer mentioned in her writings "We can starve together or feast together. All flourishing is mutual."

Happy Exploring