The interconnection of a forest and our wellbeing
I am Sarah Elliman, and I’m a Canadian author, counselor, and outdoor enthusiast. In this article, I’ll explain the inspiration, science and philosophy behind my newest children’s book, A Tree Just Like Me. Although the story I’ve written is for children ages 6-9, it provides its young audience just a glimpse into the topics we’ll explore here. Before showing how forest ecology and emotional health intersect, let’s start with a brief description of my book.
Description of A Tree Just Like Me
Feeling lonely, young River ventures into the forest near her new home. When she meets a friendly Tree Being, River learns about the forest community of plants, fungi, and trees. By connecting with nature, River shows us how to overcome loneliness.
The inspiration for A Tree Just Like Me has its roots in two places…
…the research of Suzanne Simard, PhD and my childhood. Without getting into the details of my personal history too much (maybe I’ll save that for another book), I’ll simply say that my childhood home was not always a place of comfort. For years, the daily stress was difficult to cope with. I learned to seek solace in the peace of the forest.
Until the age of nine, I lived on the outskirts of Athabasca, Alberta, a northern community in Canada with a population of less than 3,000. I was that lonely kid who ventured out into the forest and discovered a connection to something larger than myself. That connection has stayed with me my whole life.
My personal connection to the forest was important to me, but as I grew older, I became more concerned with our collective wellbeing. As a young adult, I was preoccupied with the threat of climate change and the fragility of our local food systems. Born with an activist streak, I did what came naturally to me: joined as many social and environmental action groups as I could.
One such group was Vernon Permaculture. Permaculture is the practice of observing and adopting nature’s strategies for creating robust, highly efficient and interconnected systems of food production. It is through friends and fellow nerds in the realm of permaculture that I became aware of Suzanne Simard.
So, who is Suzanne Simard?
Suzanne Simard is a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia and author of the book Finding the Mother Tree. In a nutshell, what Suzanne unearthed in her 30+ years of research is that within the forest soil, vast networks exist of mycelium (the root-like structure of fungus) which have a symbiotic relationship with the trees. The degree to which the mycelium facilitates cooperation between trees of differing species is incredible. T
his information challenges the purely “survival of the fittest” view of nature that many of us have mistakenly adopted. The mycorrhizal network enables trees to exchange nutrients, resources, and information, such as stress hormones that indicate threats. The fungus helps the trees, and the trees help the fungus and each other. As the little tree in my story says, “We are a community.”
So the forest is a community that functions cooperatively, cool, but what does that have to do with emotional health?
In A Tree Just Like Me, the main character, River, experiences an emotional transformation from loneliness to connectedness as a result of discovering the interconnections of the forest. When she realizes that she’s surrounded by life and that life is benevolent, she experiences a shift in worldview.
In CBT (Cognitive Behavioral therapy) and many other psycho-therapeutic approaches, our mental health is understood to be directly related to our beliefs about ourselves and our world. When we experience a shift of our worldview, it has a ripple effect in our lives.
I think research like Suzanne Simard’s, stories like A Tree Just Like Me, and direct exposure to peaceful, natural environments, all have the potential to influence one’s world view. It is easy to imagine how one would benefit from viewing life as inherently cooperative and collaborative instead of brutally competitive.
It’s important for us as living beings to feel connected to a living world and to know that the systems that support our life are alive with an intelligence of their own. This knowledge is especially helpful in reducing anxiety during a time in which scientists are sounding the alarm of the climate crisis. Knowing and experiencing that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves gives our lives meaning and evokes a sense of awe.
Finally, just physically being in a forest positively affects our biochemistry. Studies of the Japanese practice of Shinrinyoku, aka “forest bathing,” have shown that trees release medicinal aerosols and their presence benefits our immune and nervous systems. Some of these medicinal aerosols even have cancer fighting properties. So, trees living in healthy communities directly improve our emotional health and our overall health in more than one way.
The refuge in nature that I’d found in childhood continues to reveal gifts to me
In my mid-twenties I spent three awesome winter seasons working at Sovereign Lake Nordic Club taking groups of children out into the forest country skiing and snowshoeing. That work reminded me what it was like to have a relationship with a specific forest, to know the trees and the lichen, and the animals that depend on each other.
As I took new groups out on the same trails day after day, I delighted in sharing with them the fruits of my familiarity with that ecosystem. I also experienced firsthand how exciting it was to introduce children to a new perspective on nature.
During this time, I became a mother and went back to school for counseling. Collecting all this knowledge culminated in the formation of a philosophy of wellness that changed my approach to activism and informed the writing of A Tree Just Like Me. The seed of a story had been planted within me, but it would not begin to germinate without the right conditions.
The idea for the story finally came to me in a moment on a snowy cliff
It was December of 2020, and I was out snowboarding. I stopped on a cliff to enjoy the view of the valley below when I noticed the top of a small pine tree sticking out of the snow. I appreciated its ability to survive in such a challenging alpine environment. That’s when I had a moment of mistaken sympathy for the tree. I thought how it might be perceived as lonely, as the only living thing up on that unforgiving cliff.
Of course, I knew better; it wasn’t alone. I felt a kinship to the tree and that is when I had the idea for the story. I snowboarded straight home and began writing.
The next day, I contacted the artist whose style I envisioned being the perfect fit for the story, a friend and fellow mountain local Raffaella Lipscomb of Vaz Art. It turns out, she studied animation in university and, although she had never illustrated a book before, the art she produced for it was stunning. Everything clicked into place and after almost two years of collaborative work, A Tree Just Like Me is now ready for the world.
Another tool of my inner activist…
I knew that day on the mountain that the story of A Tree Just Like Me was more than just a fun book for children. It is also another tool of my inner activist. I believe that the solutions for many of the global issues we currently face must begin with people understanding their connection to, and interdependence with, all forms of life on our planet. At the end of her 18-minute Ted Talk, Suzanne Simard reflects on how little has improved in regards to sustainable forest management in the Canadian Forestry Industry. She gives her audience four approaches to solving the problem of losing our healthy forests:
1. “We all need to get out in the forest.”
2. “We need to save our old growth forest.”
3. “When we do cut, we need to save the legacies, the mother trees.”
4. “We need to regenerate our forests with a diversity of species.”
Cultures around the world have taught, for thousands of years, the importance of having a relationship with the natural world. My goal with A Tree Just Like Me is to reignite a sense of belonging and connection between children and their natural environments.
For the sake of our future forests and for the sake of the health and happiness of our future generations, I hope that it will be enough to get more families out in the forest. After all, now that we know how much the forest has to offer our own wellbeing, we have more reason than ever to get to know it a little better.
About the author
For me, writing has always gone hand in hand with my love of the outdoors. Both art and nature are sources of inspiration and avenues for therapeutic release and exploration. When I envision a peaceful and nourishing setting for myself, it is somewhere remote with a writing pad. I’ve been writing short-stories and poetry from the age of seven for my own joy and entertainment.
Now as a parent, I find myself naturally drawn to writing stories that I feel are an offering of love to the world. I want to contribute to making this world a better place, and I see writing children’s stories as one of many fun and fulfilling ways to do that. I am blessed to live at Silver Star Mountain Resort in Vernon, British Columbia with my husband Jack and our son Asher.
My story, A Tree Just Like Me, is available in hardcover and paperback as of September 15th. The ebook is available on most ebook platforms. I encourage you to purchase a copy to share with someone you love. Order A Tree Just Like Me from most bookstores or online from Amazon.
Author links
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Watch Suzanne Simard’s Ted Talk “How trees talk to each other”
Sources:
“Effect of forest bathing trips on human immune function.”
“Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and Nature Therapy: A State-of-the-Art Review”
Buy it!
Buy a copy of A Tree Just Like Me here, and help support local bookstores! This is an affiliate link, and I will earn a commission on any sales.
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This is such a fun and creative way to teach children about the environment!
My girls would really love this book. I’m going to add it to our wish list. What a great concept.