Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest

by Joan Maloof

In this collection of natural-history essays, biologist Joan Maloof embarks on a series of lively, fact-filled expeditions into forests of the eastern United States. Through Maloof’s engaging, conversational style, each essay offers a lesson in stewardship as it explores the interwoven connections between a tree species and the animals and insects whose lives depend on it--and who, in turn, work to ensure the tree’s survival.Never really at home in a laboratory, Maloof took to the woods early in her career. Her enthusiasm for firsthand observation in the wild spills over into her writing, whether the subject is the composition of forest air, the eagle’s preference for nesting in loblolly pines, the growth rings of the bald cypress, or the gray squirrel’s fondness for weevil-infested acorns. With a storyteller’s instinct for intriguing particulars, Maloof expands our notions about what a tree “is” through her many asides--about the six species of leafhoppers who eat only sycamore leaves or the midges who live inside holly berries and somehow prevent them from turning red.

As a scientist, Maloof accepts that trees have a spiritual dimension that cannot be quantified. As an unrepentant tree hugger, she finds support in the scientific case for biodiversity. As an activist, she can’t help but wonder how much time is left for our forests.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Science, Environment, Essays, Plants, Ecology

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

I have had six nonfiction books published by trade and university presses, and five are still in print. I have had numerous essays, chapters, journal articles, and poems published. I have received writing awards, including the Mary Byrd Davis Award, (a writer’s residency at Bordeneuve Retreat, France); the Eric Hoffer Book Award (finalist); and the International Silent Spring Essay Competition.

I have a PhD in Ecology and I am a Professor Emeritus at Salisbury University in Maryland. I am the Founder of the national Old-Growth Forest Network.

Reviews

[Christie Angleton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Something about this book wasn't sitting with me in ways that I couldn't articulate. Then the author compared nursing a sick tree (instead of chopping it) to a woman reflecting on not having an abortion after her child has grown and thrived. Can we all acknowledge that some women terminate their pregnancies without ever feeling remorse? And that that's NORMAL and perfectly okay? This one's gonna be a no from me.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essays about trees that are a mixture of personal stories & information on various common Southern tree species -- I read this book over a couple of months, enjoying each chapter. Author is a biologist at a Maryland university & has both the heart and knowledge for trees.

Enjoyed learning that the black locust was once only found in Appalachia but now all over the eastern United States. Red maple now a common tree in the Eastern woods but once it was uncommon. Chapters on my favorite trees -- sycamore, beech, red cedar, tulip poplar and oak. I appreciate pines more after reading the essay on them.

Pencil illustrations of leaves accompany each chapter.

Hope to come across other books by this author.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this over a few weeks, one tree at a time, almost like a devotional. And that’s what this book is, at least in part: devotional, textbook, memoir. Joan Maloof uses the phrase, “Now look deeper…” to take the reader beyond leaves, branches, trunk, and bark and see a world within a world. She says of her farmhouse on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, “This is the most beautiful place on Earth. There are many such places.” (Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire) The trees she talks about – sweet gum, holly, sycamore, pine, bald cypress, and others – grow on the Shore. Joan Maloof knows them well, and she knows the animals and insects that depend on the trees, and, in turn, other animals and insects that depend on those animals and insects: the web of life. Her message, that the trees are important as part of this web, led her, some years after the publication of this book, to retire from her position as a professor of biology and found the Old-Growth Forest Network, “to preserve, protect, and promote the country’s few remaining stands of old-growth forest.” She describes her early thoughts and efforts in a story about writing this book. She went to a local copy shop to print the manuscript-in-progress to send to an agent. Her own printer would not print on both sides of the paper, and the clerk at the copy shop didn’t think they could do it, either, but tried, at Maloof’s insistence, and was able to do so. Maloof writes, “…at that moment I felt sorrowfully alone, brooding that no one else in this small city cared that we were turning our forests into paper, that the paper in our hands represented not just trees but beetles and birds and bats and more. Unfortunately, it’s clear that we can’t rely on businesses, government, or our institutions to make the changes necessary to save our forests. It’s going to be up to individuals, and if we don’t care – well, the death of hope is even sadder to me than the death of a forest.” And finally, in words that I think we all can hold onto, she writes, “I do not try to fool myself into thinking that the saving of this one forest will do much to counteract the ecological destruction happening everywhere around me, but it is a gesture, and we all must gesture in the direction we hope to see the world go.”

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed her multidisciplinary approach and inclusion of poetry with science.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more inspiring than informative, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Maloof mixes the feeling she gets from Rilke's poetry (also a bit of Thoreau and Whitman) into her conservation efforts. Her aim is to preserve the few old growth forests left in her home, discourage further deforestation and let the reader know about the damage that pine tree plantations for wood production do to the local ecosystems. This is, indeed, mixed in with information about insect, bird and squirrel habits in relation to the trees and the forest as a whole, but the aim is to connect the reader, emotionally, to the forests. She accomplishes this beautifully. My favourite part is how she managed to save a forest from being cut down by turning it into a 9/11 memorial, serving two noble purposes at once.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a typical natural history narrative that had many interesting explanations of tree-animal interactions. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of insect and other invertebrate interactions and the historical illustrations that accompanied them. I could do without the author's opinions though, but maybe that is because most of my values and beliefs regarding nature were formed years ago and I don't need to waste time reading to more green rants. Perhaps young students will find her pleas compelling and see that knowledge of nature is power.

I did mark a wonderful passage that grasps the complexity of nature, page 102:

"The reality on the ground... is that each species follows its own ecological rules. The result is like a Venn diagram of overlapping niches more complex than any human could comprehend."

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the fortune of hearing Joan Maloof speak at a conference. I snatched up the last copy of this book and she signed it. I enjoyed reading these short essays about some of our native tree species and the complex life cycles of the little-known insects who depend on them. She has a meandering style that was hard to follow in one or two places, and once or twice she was overly preachy, but overall I did not find that this detracted from the book. An unexpected treat was the exquisite pencil drawings accompanying each chapter. I'm looking forward to reading her other books.

[Sylvia Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of fairytale-like stories about the complex interrelationships among organisms, such as beech trees, tway-blade orchids, which only grow under beech trees, their pollinating fungus gnats, and several fungus species that make it all possible. It's also full of anger and sadness about the clear-cutting of our forests, and all the lives we lose when we lose our trees. The author's anger is appropriate, but I wonder if showing us more of the wonder and grace of our forests, helping us to love them, before bringing on all of the gloom, might not be more effective in leading us to want to conserve them. The author herself addresses the heartbreak of species loss in this quote from her book, "Maybe even the sorrow we feel for the organisms we destroy is part of the web of life." An intriguing thought, but I don't find it comforting.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem of a book. Full of fascinating, lovingly observed details about the community of animals, insects, fungus, and other life that live in symbiotic relationship with trees in forests. Indeed, if one word could sum up the stories, it would be "relationship." The author's voice is friendly, conversational, and sympathetic, possibly belying her decades of experience and knowledge of trees and forests. Her admiration for the intricacies of creatures and the miracle of life cycles is contagious, which I imagine is one reason for writing a book like this. On the theory that we act to protect what we love, Joan Maloof has increased my love for trees.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was almost the right book for me — the descriptions of trees and their relationships to other organisms and people mixed with personal narrative sounds like a perfectly enjoyable read — and parts were quite excellent. But I didn’t realize that there would be large, moralizing sections about deep ecology, which had too much emphasis on wilderness preservation for me, and came across as holier-than-thou toward regular people just trying to make a living, in addition to being occasionally appropriative. I still enjoyed reading learning tree ecology... and making copious notes in the margins whenever I disagreed!

[Trudy Macy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I "read" this wonderful book on audible..and was completely immersed in the author's conversational style. Her personal relationship with each of the trees,and knowledge of the ecology surrounding them was an eye opener for me.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything is Connected: TEACHING THE TREES
http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/201...
Trees of all types have a place and a purpose on this planet. Joan Maloof tells us why.


I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader’s copy of this book. No remuneration was exchanged and all opinions presented herein are my own except as noted.



I like trees: they clean our air, provide homes and food for humans and other animals, they prevent my house from sliding down the hill into the marsh. Yay trees!!

Trees, and thus all life on earth has a champion in Joan Maloof, biologist and unabashed tree-hugger. She knowledge and understanding of trees and their role in the planet’s ecosystem. But, it’s neither dull nor pedantic. The essays are stand-alone so you can listen in small chunks; and the information is delivered engagingly with Donna Postel’s clearly-voiced, well-paced narration. I loved the stories about the intricacies of the forest: especially interesting is how the beech is interdependent with species of salamanders, an orchid and a squirrel. That may sound silly, but her sensitivity to nature snuck up on me and I find myself thinking more about my interactions with nature.

Also, Maloof’s information is often related via a personal story like a tree in her garden reviving itself. In non-fiction there’s really nothing more engaging than personal stories connecting the author to a concept. It also connects us to the concept, and opens the mind to the important information delivered within the anecdotes. We can save the planet with trees, and they can save us.

The book is short, at a bit over four hours, so it’s not like trying to listen to an encyclopedia. It could be a fun listen as you drive to a holiday dinner; after all, trees reduce stress.

This is a great gift for people who love the outdoors, who garden, who have a lot of trees, landscapers: pretty much everyone who’s ever set foot in a forest.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in the Pacific Northwest in a house on the hillside nestled amongst the trees ... it is my refuge and I am grateful that I can live in a place that feels like a permanent vacation spot.
Every chance I get a venture just a bit from home to experience miles upon miles of glorious hiking trails. The old growth trees covered in moss and the distant mountain views renew my soul every single time.
This book was the perfect companion book for all the above. I learned so much about the trees that surround me and the reasons I benefit from them. If you are an environmentalist or a naturalist or just appreciate the beauty that surrounds you, I’m sure this book will be comforting and meaningful to you.

[Kem White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a gem. It is a collection of essays with each essay based on a different species of tree. I'm a Maryland native. So what makes this book extra special for me is that the thematic trees - and hence the essays - are all native Maryland trees. (Maloof teaches at Salisbury University on Maryland's Eastern Shore.) The essays contain first rate ecological science. But the book also contains numerous examples of the importance of trees and how we're all connected to the environment. Finally the book paints a clear picture of how important - and spiritual - mature forests are. I don't have a farm the way Maloof does. But I do have 12 trees growing on my little 1/5 acre lot. Hopefully my small efforts contribute to forestation in a way that Maloof would approve. Highly recommended.

[Mel Brannen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Milked this to make it last a long time. Poetry in prose. I like it so much I myself a copy and purchased more as gifts for Master Naturalist friends.

Makes me sad we had to stop hiking. First our girls grew into teenagers and Sunday in the woods with mom and das was no longer fun. Then Jim developed ALS and the 17-year diminishment of physical capability made hiking an activity we could no longer share - so I quit, too. Trees fill us with chemicals needed to thrive.

[Phil Greaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It has fine spirit, matched by its enthusiasm in sharing information and stories about trees and about teaching. I am particularly interested in trees at the moment; I shall remember this book as much for the enthusiasm, openness and energy as its skill, experience and expertise.

[John Creighton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was great for a quick read on the beach and the author had interesting tidbits about each of the trees she discussed, but I felt it could’ve have been better if she had gone into much more detail in each chapter. Of course I am turning into a bit of a tree geek :)

[Dan Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maloof always provides an entertaining mix of science and anecdote/memoire, with just a smidgen of activist enthusiasm tossed in. This book is no exception. My main criticism is that it ended rather abruptly. I wasn't aware I was finishing until the next page was the appendix.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. I read her “Nature’s Temples” book first and highly recommend that one, but this book seemed to ramble a lot and felt more like someone just having a conversation rather than a well though out book.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. She was passionate without being preachy. I liked the format of shorter essays. The design was gorgeous and the writing beautiful. Great vacation read.

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

an amazing combination of science and wonder. great resource for advocating for forests

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It was an easy read. I learned quite a bit about each of the trees, and other issues and other creatures.

[Dan Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent journey into the lives of trees and some of the organisms dependent upon them.

[Giselle · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF'd

[scorpiobullet18 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like trees

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the author’s blend of personal with scientific energizing and engrossing.

[Kafka Houed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chill book about trees. Like it says on the tin.

[Pete Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

More interesting tree tidbits. A bit too preachy.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some pleasant reflections on the forest. The highlight is the chapter on the 9/11 memorial forest. She doesn't come out right and say it was purely an instrument for saving the trees, but, wow.