More Trees Please discussion

Hello Tree Fronds. Happy 2025. Introduce yourself, please!

Hi, I'm Claudia. I am currently based in Wellington, New Zealand, but I'm actually from Germany. At some point in my life, I studied literature at the university, but I make a living working in tech (open source) marketing. Currently trying to get my own small consulting company off the ground.
I love to read almost anything. My two favorite tree-related reads of the past couple of months are The Overstory and Lab Girl.
I'm very much looking forward to meeting you all <3

Hi Claudia! I have never been to New Zealand but I had a mad crush on a boy from there that I met during a high school band competition in Hawaii. I have been to Germany many times; I was there last October and we drove through the Black Forest and I traced my family roots to around Frankfurt. I wish you luck with your consulting company!

Konnichiwa! I'm Tara. I've been living in Tokyo for the past 3 years with my son and husband who runs an environmental monitoring company based here. I've been studying trees through forest medicine doctors, mountain monks, Shintoism, and visiting forests around the country. In July I'm heading home to Vancouver after being away for 20 years and will be continuing my studies in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. It's a crazy time to be moving across the world but ah well, it is what it is. I own a small company based in Los Angeles that provides hands-on science and tech kits for schools and before that, I founded the LA Makerspace, Connected Camps, and worked at UC Irvine focused on interest-driven learning.

Oh, I grew up in and around Frankfurt :).
New Zealand is great. We go for walks and hikes as often as we can. It's awesome to get to know the native plants and birds here.

Hi! I'm Vyki -- I live in Los Angeles usually (but currently sheltering in place with my parents in my hometown in Florida). I own a small consulting company that builds open-source software and runs data literacy training events for government clients.

Before tech I worked on farms and as a full-time biologist and I'm trying to make more time for those interests in my life again. Right now I'm doing that mostly by reading a lot of history - specifically water and environmental policy.

I will probably skip the June read with this group, as I've got a small backlog of books I'm working through now -- mostly on accessibility in tech and designing for inclusion, books I hope to help me think better on delivering on a particular client project.

Hey Vyki! Glad to see you here. I hope you are enjoying Florida. I hope to get back to farming when we move to Vancouver next month.

Hello! I'm Paul, and I live in London. I like how spread out this group is! I've visited Germany and New Zealand. Never Japan, but I watch a load of TV shows on NHK World and would love to visit one day.

I mostly read non-fiction. Memoirs, histories, biographies and diaries are my bag. I rarely read fiction but do once or twice a year. Part of what drew to this group is the inspiration to read something I wouldn't normally choose, and if it's themed around trees and making new tree fronds, then all the better!

Paul wrote: "Hello! I'm Paul, and I live in London. I like how spread out this group is! I've visited Germany and New Zealand. Never Japan, but I watch a load of TV shows on NHK World and would love to visit on..."

Hello! London is great. We have often discussed living in the UK one day.

If you are interested in Japanese culture, you may be interested in a new book my friend here in Tokyo just published. Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World by Matt Alt.

Hello! My name is OG Readmore Mya Stark. I'm based in Los Angeles and I have the honor of being director of LA Makerspace which Tara founded :) So basically I just follow her around.

I mostly read non-fiction and 9 times out of 10 it's about the brain (human and otherwise). However, I read Francis Halle's In Praise of Plants years ago and loved it, it's thrilling to read about how plants approach the challenges we have in common as life forms.

Also I just ordered an e-reader cuz I hate reading on my phone but I realized I can't be in a tree book club and just stare at the bodies of our fallen companions for hours.

Stark wrote: "Hello! My name is OG Readmore Mya Stark. I'm based in Los Angeles and I have the honor of being director of LA Makerspace "

Yaay! Thanks for joining us. I added your recommendation to our bookshelf.

I am borrowing the current book from LA Library via Libby. There is some system they have now where you can cut to the front of the line and borrow a book for 7 days as opposed to the normal 21 days. I don't think I can do it but I'm motivated. :)

Hi Viky, Mya and Paul 👋🏻

Re-introducing myself. My name is Tara. I was living in Japan when I learned about forest bathing. It had such a profound impact on me, I became a certified forest therapy guide, closed my small tech business, and moved home to Vancouver to pursue my PhD in forest bathing. I just submitted my dissertation, and now I have more time to read books again. 🤣 So, I'm hoping that there are still other tree fronds out there interested in sharing their love of trees.