What we can learn from trees
Book : The Hidden Life of Trees – What they feel , how they communicate : Discoveries from a secret world Author : Peter Wohlleben Review by : Elvira Wood
Trees talking to another ? Disciplining their young and even socialising ?
When you look at a tree in your garden or anywhere else , that might be the last thing you would ever expect . As much as a tree is a living thing , most of us simply recognise it as a huge “ plant ” with a trunk , branches , leaves and roots .
However , when you read Peter Wohlleben ’ s The Hidden Life of Trees , you are instantly transported to a magical world . It is almost as if one travelled to Fangorn Forest where the Ents lived in JRR Tolkien ’ s Lord of the Rings . Ents are , as most of you might know , tree-like creatures – tall , slender and very strong – similar to the beech trees Wohlleben looks after .
Make no mistake , The Hidden Life of Trees is not a fantasy novel but Wohlleben ’ s understanding as a forester for the municipality of Hümmel in the Eifel mountains in Germany , of trees – how they grow and live .
“ a tree can be only as strong as the forest that surrounds it ” and “ their well-being depends on their community ”.
But why review a book on trees in a magazine aimed at graduate professionals ?
Considering that the theme for this edition is growth , the choice of a book on trees starts to make more sense .
If there is ever an example of growth , then it would be a tree .
Although Wohlleben ’ s book is not exclusively about growth , when one writes about trees , one cannot not write about growth . And , as much as the author never intended for this book to serve as a parable for any other forms of growth – be it personal or career
20