Hi all, The “Jane Goodall of trees”, Diana Beresford-Kroeger, was recently interviewed by Corporate Knights about her work in tree conservation. In the interview, she states that “we will not have a living planet without…trees”. Beresford-Kroeger has just published her eighth book, Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests, where she continues her efforts to educate the public on the critical importance of trees, which provide oxygen that allows humans to survive. In the interview, she declares, “We’ve only been so stupid as to cut down the global forests…So it means there’s less oxygen in the air and more carbon dioxide. Today we have [roughly] 420 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The last time it was like that was millions of years ago. We’re heading to danger.”
Beresford-Kroeger outlines her three-step “bio-plan” to save the trees. Step one is to stop cutting down ancient virgin forests. These mature trees are like grandparents who hold in their DNA the knowledge of how to survive hundreds or thousands of years of climate hardship. They also contain medicines that continue to be discovered by scientists. Step two is to plant the right trees in the right place. Beresford-Kroeger says that even though foresters are replanting trees cleared due to logging, we are still planting the wrong trees in the wrong place. Non-native trees like eucalyptus in California and Scots pine in Canada are monocultures that contribute to wildfires on the West Coast. Step three is education. Beresford-Kroeger has already written several books and feels she can only do so much. She says she wants to get the message out that people should pay more attention to nature. In all of this, Beresford-Kroeger believes that politicians (in North America at least) are not meeting their promises to plant more trees and that ultimately, “it has to be in the hands of people.” To read the full interview, click here.
Beresford-Kroeger outlines her three-step “bio-plan” to save the trees. Step one is to stop cutting down ancient virgin forests. These mature trees are like grandparents who hold in their DNA the knowledge of how to survive hundreds or thousands of years of climate hardship. They also contain medicines that continue to be discovered by scientists. Step two is to plant the right trees in the right place. Beresford-Kroeger says that even though foresters are replanting trees cleared due to logging, we are still planting the wrong trees in the wrong place. Non-native trees like eucalyptus in California and Scots pine in Canada are monocultures that contribute to wildfires on the West Coast. Step three is education. Beresford-Kroeger has already written several books and feels she can only do so much. She says she wants to get the message out that people should pay more attention to nature. In all of this, Beresford-Kroeger believes that politicians (in North America at least) are not meeting their promises to plant more trees and that ultimately, “it has to be in the hands of people.” To read the full interview, click here.
