Two women: A tree whisperer and a friend of chimps

It seems timely that as Women’s Month ends and Earth Day on April 22 beckons, the lives of two women pioneers and their lifelong advocacies to Planet Earth and the environment are recognized. They are neither the superstars nor the household names that they should be, unfortunately.

I was intrigued by the idea of a tree whisperer, Canadian forest ecologist Suzanne Simard who talks to the trees, telling them, “I hope I’m helping.” Her romance with trees and woodlands must have begun when, as a little girl, she would eat humus – yes, the topsoil of decayed leaves. That she was constantly putting dirt in her mouth did not have dire effects on her. In fact, she said that it was actually good for kids because it builds up their immune systems. She was born into family of loggers, so she grew up with the forest.

The FT Weekend (26/27 March) interview with her wittingly says, “Others could not see the forest for the timber. But Simard saw the forest, the trees, the fungi and more. She saw that each part created a ‘wood wide bed.’”

When she first joined the predominantly male logging industry in the 1970s, industrial clear-cutting was the norm. A single species of trees was grown, as the old thinking dictated. A Monsanto herbicide was used to kill native seedlings, because it was felt these would crowd out the commercially prized trees.  Simard’s reaction to that was, planting only single species “strips the trees of all their companions that they need to do other jobs.” Diversity, she is convinced, makes for a healthier ecosystem.

Simard’s advocacy is not always popular with Big Business. She cites British Columbia’s forests which are being turned into wood pellets for Europe as a supposedly green alternative to fossil fuels.  There is Amazon shipping s*** all over the world in boxes made from old forests. She wants a moratorium on cutting down old growth forests, calling them natural “cathedrals” worldwide, except for places where the indigenous people request it.

Ultimately, she says trees and humans are more similar than we might think. Her work, she says, was for her children, especially during their growing up years when she seemed to have neglected them. “My guiding light is to protect the Earth so that we can protect our kids.”

The comparison is drawn between Suzanne Simard, lover of trees, and Jane Goodall, lover of chimps, and how their advocacies have neither halted the logging of forests nor the threat to the extinction of chimps. Yet they both soldier on, believing in the good they can continue to do as activists for the environment.

Goodall first drew worldwide attention in 1960 at the age of 26 when she sat for months in the forests of Tanzania, awaiting chimpanzees to accept her presence so she could observe them closely. She made the startling discovery that chimps use tools – it used to be believed that humans were the only animals that used tools or had emotions – and are intelligent social animals. It also paved the way for tighter restrictions on using them for lab testing. It was not as easy as that, for while doing her PhD at the University of Cambridge on the study of animal behavior, she was criticized for using human names and emotions in describing them. “I didn’t confront them. I just quietly went on doing what I knew was right.” Meanwhile, a special relationship between the chimps and Goodall began.

In the same way that Simard finds company and comfort among the trees (“It is never a quiet place, it’s never alone, it’s always regenerating and that’s the beauty”), so does Goodall feel a special “spiritual connection” with the forest and the animals. “If you’re alone, you feel part of nature.” She who says she has always loved being by herself continues to feel that link with nature but now hears a plea for help.

When she shifted from research to activism in the 1980s, her non-confrontational approach allowed her to emerge as “one of the most prolific environmentalists in modern history.” In the TIME magazine Oct. 11/Oct. 18, 2021 cover story on Jane Goodall, it is said that drawing on her life story of a woman living among the animals was a powerful image that enthused people about environmentalism.

The Jane Goodall Institute has since been founded and it has fundraised for habitat conservation, poverty alleviation and animal sanctuaries.  Today, the JGI has chapters in 24 countries.  She became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2004.

It is striking how both impassioned advocates for the environment and the earth’s resources continue with their efforts infused by much hope. Simard’s rage about the old forests disappearing is tempered by optimism. Her research has shown that forests will regenerate and spread rapidly in areas where “mother trees” are left standing.

From where does Goodall’s hope emerge in the midst of environmental destruction and violent human conflicts? She cites four reasons: “the amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, the power of young people and the indomitable human spirit.” She considers this hope and her plan to spread it a plan of action so necessary for humanity’s survival. Her encouraging words, “If you don’t hope that your actions can make a difference, then you sink into apathy.” And, “If young people succumb to the doom and gloom – if they lose – that’s the end.”

*      *      *

We are ready for summer!

Young Writers’ Hangouts are on April 9 with Mary Ann Ordinario and April 23 with Roel Cruz. Write Things’ six-day summer workshop “Writefest” (now on its 8th year) on May 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27 is now open for registration. Open to 8-17 year olds, it will run from 3-4:30 pm every session.

Contact [email protected]. 0945.2273216

Email:[email protected]