The take-home message was something I know all too well: forests are a necessary part of the lives we live and deserve our respect and protection. We all have a connection with them, no matter where we live or who we are. Think back to the places you’ve felt most at peace: do they have any links to nature? The two that I think of (one of which is the upper canopy of the Amazon rainforest captured in the photograph) are forests, and both are locations I would have chosen well before my career led me down this path as a forester and arborist. Do these places, which give us such calm and peaceful feelings, deserve our protection? I say “of course,” but it seems not everyone agrees.
A balance needs to be found between the economics of natural resource extraction and protecting the ecosystem. The film “Cultivating Common Ground: The Story of the Lakeview Stewardship Group” showed that many different groups, representing all aspects of a conundrum, can work together and make such balance possible.
The film “Climbing Redwood Giants” portrayed a place where “monster” trees remain protected through federal law, but allowed selective harvest of younger redwoods. Algonquin, the largest park in Ontario, is a local example of such a balance at work: timber is sustainably harvested, and the park remains an important sanctuary for wildlife, recreation, and education.
As I reflect back on the International Year of Forests, I hope that my actions have made a positive impact on the environment and the places I hold dear to my heart remain as intact in reality as they stay in my head. But here is my challenge to you: find the places in your life that give you peace and share with others what makes them so special. Protection can come in many forms – and word of mouth is a very powerful way to start.