Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

Simard emphasizes how her family legacy of hand-falling trees in western Canada influenced her path to becoming a well-respected forest ecologist and researcher. Simard explains the cyclical, interconnected nature of the forest as rooted in “Mother Trees”: mature trees that help to regulate the transfer of minerals, water, and resources to younger trees through interconnected roots and fungal networks. Simard was one of the first women to become involved in, and later significantly influence, the logging industry. Her curiosity about how the forest was able to “[mend] itself when left to its own devices” encouraged her to pursue scientific research into fungal networks (4), growth patterns, and the changes ecological policymakers need to make to keep forests healthy.

At 20 years old, Simard is working seasonally for a logging company in western Canada’s Lillooet Mountain Range. Her family historically felled trees for the logging industry by hand, so Simard seeks to become involved in the industry as well. The landscape around her frequently reminds her how her extended family has lived in harmony with the natural world despite its many dangers. She sees a direct connection between the relationships within her family and the interconnected nature of a forest: “How had the trees weathered the changing cycles of growth and dormancy, and how did this compare to the joys and hardships my family had endured in a fraction of the time?” (8).