In his essay, Daniel Immerwahr describes a new tree discourse, which sees them not as inert objects but intelligent subjects. Trees have thoughts and desires, the new theory goes, and they converse via fungi that connect their roots like fibre optic internet cables. Immerwahr identifies the source of this revelation as forest ecologist Suzanne Simard, whose idea of trees as intelligent and cooperative, even maternal, was so enthusiastically adopted in scientific books and popular culture.
Over the past half-century, the global portion of people living in rural areas has decreased by almost a third. As people gravitate to the cities for work, or to escape the ravages of the climate crisis, vast areas of land are abandoned to be reclaimed by nature. We have become accustomed to reading about rewilding projects, but these are often labour intensive.
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