BY KAREN BOSSICK
Peter Wohlleben, whom some consider Germany’s Jacques Cousteau of the woods, is convinced that trees are social creatures and the woods their social community.
The author of “The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World”” draws on scientific discoveries to describe what he calls the “Wood-Wide Web,” a network through which trees communicate with one another. Wohlleben says parent trees live together with their children, communicating with them, nurturing them as they grow, sharing nutrients with them when they’re sick and warning them of impending dangers.
Sun Valley-area residents will have a special opportunity to hear from Wohlleben and ask questions of him when the forester explains the amazing processes of life, death and regeneration in the woods during a virtual event on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The virtual presentation, co-hosted by the Wood River Land Trust and The Community Library, can be seen on the Library’s Livestream at https://livestream.com/comlib. The talk is free but registration is required at https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/7192149
“This might best be thought of as ‘Coffee with Trees,’ as he is speaking in the morning,” said Courtney Jelaco, director of development for the Wood River Land Trust.
Can’t make it so early in the morning? Never fear. The program is being recorded and will be available for later viewing on the library’s Livestream, said Jelaco.
Wohlleben became a government wood ranger in the Rhineland area of Germany following graduation from forestry school. But he became disenchanted by the use of insecticides he was expected to apply and the tree cutting he was expected to do in the process of managing the forest for lumber production, rather than preserving it.
In addition to “The Hidden Life of Trees,” he has written “The Secret Wisdom of Nature,” “The Inner Life of Animals” and “The Weather Detective: Rediscovering Nature’s Secret Signs.” He appears in the documentary film “Intelligent Trees.”