Trees, shrubs and many plants in our forests are connected through mycelium, fungal roots that have a symbiotic relationship with plants. Photo by Leia Althauser
By: Sylvia G. Hadnot, M.Ed., Co-Chair, E3 Washington
Lately, I have been very inspired by trees and mushrooms. In old growth forests, mushrooms maintain relationships with each other and many other species growing in the forest. These relationships are centered around care. The fungi you see on a hike are connected to each other and the species around them through networks called mycorrhizae. These connections are the information sharing system that the forest uses to thrive. When I envision the work of E3 Washington, I like to think of a network quite the same.
There is a wisdom to the way the species in the forests interact with each other that has long been forgotten. For a relatively short period of recent history, many people have understood trees and other forest beings through reductionist science. We understood how their cells turned sunlight into energy, but we didn’t see how elder, middle-aged, and youth trees engage in various roles within the forest. And many people certainly didn’t see that each of the roles were vital to the forest thriving--that their relationships were centered around interconnectedness and care.
Say, for example, that a virus was introduced to one singular tree in a forest. The tree would send messages through the mycorrhizae networks to all the surrounding trees. The surrounding trees would then begin to build up immunity to the virus by producing and sharing antibodies amongst themselves, with the understanding that there’s always more where that came from and we gon’ be alright.
Fruiting mushrooms like this fly amanita (Amanita muscaria) connect to trees and other plants in the forest through underground networks. Photo by Leia Althauser
Meanwhile, humans have been organizing our connections a bit differently. One of our most prominent systems of connection is capitalism. Capitalism tells a recurring story of exploitation. It uses the mediums of billboards, text books, commercials, and even the way we structure our organizations to ensure its prominence. And now we are faced with the many indicators of exploitation culture: workplace burnout, oppressive relationships, biodiversity loss, natural disasters, climate change, and a global pandemic.
As environmental and sustainability educators, we are tasked with the work of teaching for sustainability. Right now, I’m grappling with these questions as I endeavor to center care in my work: How will we walk the talk of sustainability in our relationships, both for the purpose of care, and for modeling this for the students we serve? As we build organizations, networks, and relationships for sustainability, how can we learn from the wisdom of the forests?
If you want to join me in grappling with these questions, check out what I’m reading and listening to right now: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben; The Mother Tree Project; and Suzane Simard -- Forests Are Wired For Wisdom, Sept 14, 2021 episode of the On Being with Krista Tippett podcast.