Under the Canopy
Bristlecone pine by Eric Utne (from Dark Mountain: Issue 9)
‘Our ancestors came from the canopy, and – given our species’ reliance on trees to make our world habitable – in many ways we never left it. Or it never left us.’
This ongoing section is an invitation for writers and artists to explore the effects that trees have on us, from an ancient chestnut in Sicily to a dome of ash in Wales, from tree protests in India to the first palm to be felled on an Indonesian island. Welcome to the woods.
Fine Particles of Brilliant Forests, Burning
Becca Rose Hall and Rosalie Chapple
14th September, 2020
As catastrophic fires continue to rage through West coast in the US and the wetlands of Brazil, a lament for the burning of wild lives of the forests in Washington and Australia.
Enter: Thunder, Fire, Smoke and Relearning New Languages
Sara Jolena Wolcott M.Div
2nd September, 2020
As lightning strikes California and the ancient forests burn, Sara Jolena Walcott gives a searing report on the re-forming of Earth and the urgent work of decolonisation.
How Green is My Forest
Suprabha Seshan
21st May, 2020
Today from our Under the Canopy section, conservationist and writer Suprabha Seshan takes us into the 'zillion-beinged' forest of the Western Ghats. With paintings by Meena Subramaniam
Heartwood
Sophia Patane
2nd April, 2020
Second post for this month's Under the Canopy section. Sophia Patane looks at the shifting fortunes of the eastern white pine by the St Croix river, Minnesota
When Trees First Grew on Earth
Mark Martin
25th March, 2020
Reflecting on the entwining destinies of trees and human beings, Mark Martin delves into deep time and poetry for our Under the Canopy section
Where the Trees Used to Be
Matt Miles
3rd July, 2019
Matt Miles' essay on the loss of the American chestnut, the latest in our Under the Canopy section
Beech Bark Book
William Bock
10th October, 2018
Artist William Bock continues our 'Under the Canopy' section with the story of Ireland's great lost forests.
An Arboreal Language
Juhi Saklani
5th October, 2018
Delhi-based photographer Juhi Saklani responds to the mass felling of street trees in her city.
Art of Climbing Trees
Henrik Dahle
26th September, 2018
Our 'Under the Canopy' section continues with Henrik Dahle's quest to climb a different tree every day for a year.