Just here to say… love everything about what you are doing and grateful to share the planet with a being such as yourself. I enjoy your essays so much. They make me think more deeply about my own relationship with the plants who provide me with life. Appreciate you! ❤️
Love your evidence-based, well researched writing. It speaks to me. I'm in awe of your decades of field studies and your courage to speak your mind, even when it goes against the norm.
Excellent!! I’ve been reading you for years and always enjoy your writing. I have even bought some of your books and am eagerly awaiting your next one! Now I have a grandson who talks to trees and listens when they whisper back to him. He’s 7 years old and I love him dearly. I hope he always can hear the trees, and I wish others would listen to them, too.
You made my day, Heather! Not just by saying you've been a reader for years, but by telling me about your grandson. That is really enheartening to hear! Has he gotten a copy of the Lorax yet?
“A truly environmentalist approach is about engaging with plants and nature in a healthy, respectful way, and it feels to me that this perspective is in danger of falling by the wayside.” Couldn’t agree more, and the writing and work you do to help promote that approach is so valuable, Kollibri. Thank you.
Bravo! Speak for trees, grasslands, wetlands, the full panoply of native plants. Its like the tale of the Emperor and his clothes. We denuded the land with our sprawling constructions festooned with glittering technologies. The child exclaims, but is not heard, the landscape has got no green. Nothing to sponge the water when it rains. Nothing to feed the soil with root exudate carbohydrates. Nothing to open stomata to release vapor that evaporates to cool the microclimate. Nothing that releases water vapor during the darkest hour before dawn to condense and warm with the morning dew. Nothing releasing fungi and bacteria into air that water vapor nucleates around to form cumulus clouds drawing moisture in from the ocean. Instead we huff and puff about the climate changing due to fossil fuel emissions, CO2 rising like a hockey stick, rush to manufacture more electric vehicles, and how artificial our intelligence has become. It’s time to get back to where we once belonged with plants and life.
you've changed my view of the world - and of the PLANTS in it - and also the people near and dear to me: my husband, a musician who now embraces the magic of the plant universe, the ranch mate who has adopted the gardening methods you championed for our market garden, the tracking friends who have the depth of spirit to acknowledge their views on 'invasives' are misbegotten (literally!) - the old Master Tracker remains intractable on this subject, ranting about the horrible plants 'destroying' the landscapes he's been tracking for EIGHTY years - he gets angry when i respond with "the world is changing, it's always changing" - thanks Kolibri!
What a fabulous article, if possible I would love to share with the “greenies” here to show them how wrong they can be. It is imperative to talk to your plants, they do show appreciation. It is unfortunate that in some cases, and I don’t want to be considered racist, but the number of immigrants to our country who don’t particularly like trees on their property either poison them or chop them down, something that one of our neighbours did to two fence lines of trees which were magnificent.
Currently, our property laws in the US give people nearly unlimited power to destroy whatever vegetation they would like, and it's time that changed. We should start with protecting mature trees, which have so many benefits, ecologically, economically and aesthetically. A lot of people might not be in the mood to be told they can't do whatever they want on their property, but we really can't afford it anymore.
Next time you're in Marin County, come visit our garden in downtown Fairfax. I'm a 2005 graduate ( the oldest to be accepted at age 62) of the farm program at U.C. Santa Cruz and I think your spirit was there. Since then I've been involved in "restoring" rivers and creeks in Napa. Our work was window dressing for the wineries sucking up all of the water for their green gold. A ton of premium grapes now sells for over $8000. and the valley is now too hot to grow those premium grapes. The thousands of oaks and native riparian shrubs that we planted are all struggling to survive. The invasive Chinese Ailanthus or Tree of Heaven, Black acacia and and star thistle or thriving. They are beautiful but don't offer much to native birds and bugs. I look forward to your next article, keep up the good work.
I love California and hope to return for a visit soon, so thanks for the invitation.
Last summer I spent a few months in Sonoma County, where wineries are also a huge ecological problem.
I'm not surprised the native restoration work is proving challenging. That's a very common story. In so many cases, the land has been altered so much that the conditions are no longer optimal for the original species. I'm talking about conditions like soil, hydrology, exposure, etc., but also lack of original fauna who might've been key to their success. Historically, Beavers would have played a key role in riparian areas in northern California, so their absence is a big deal. Also, the various chemicals and pollutants associated with conventional agriculture have had had effects over time, down to the level of microorganisms in the soil.
In many cases, introduced plants are tolerant of these changed conditions, or even thrive in them, which is why they succeed.
Ailanthus tolerates nutrient-poor soils, compacted soils, and can establish in places where the topsoil is no longer present. It has been used to remediate acidic mining spoils.
Star Thistle thrives in areas subjected to overgrazing, conventional agriculture, road-building and fire-exclusion.
I don't know much about Black Acacia, if you mean Acacia melanoxylon. But nitrogen-fixing members of the Pea Family (Fabaceae) are very common pioneer species in anthropogenic disturbances.
The point of all this should be clear: If you want to increase the number of native plants and decrease the number of introduced plants, you have to work on the underlying conditions of the site. Simply eradicating one thing and planting another is unlikely to be very successful.
Unfortunately, there is a great lack of money for post-restoration monitoring efforts across the board, especially long-term, so these lessons are not being learned or publicized.
I recommend this article I wrote last year about a landscape I observed in Sonoma County:
Just here to say… love everything about what you are doing and grateful to share the planet with a being such as yourself. I enjoy your essays so much. They make me think more deeply about my own relationship with the plants who provide me with life. Appreciate you! ❤️
Thanks so much! I appreciate you as a reader!
Love your evidence-based, well researched writing. It speaks to me. I'm in awe of your decades of field studies and your courage to speak your mind, even when it goes against the norm.
Thanks, Bree!
Excellent!! I’ve been reading you for years and always enjoy your writing. I have even bought some of your books and am eagerly awaiting your next one! Now I have a grandson who talks to trees and listens when they whisper back to him. He’s 7 years old and I love him dearly. I hope he always can hear the trees, and I wish others would listen to them, too.
You made my day, Heather! Not just by saying you've been a reader for years, but by telling me about your grandson. That is really enheartening to hear! Has he gotten a copy of the Lorax yet?
I’m not sure, I’ll have to ask his mother, my youngest daughter!
“A truly environmentalist approach is about engaging with plants and nature in a healthy, respectful way, and it feels to me that this perspective is in danger of falling by the wayside.” Couldn’t agree more, and the writing and work you do to help promote that approach is so valuable, Kollibri. Thank you.
Wonderful. Complex themes so elegantly and clearly expressed. Thanks so much for posting.
You're welcome! I'm glad you appreciated it, Patricia.
Love this piece and the idea of wildtending. The book Light eaters by Zoe Schlanger was real enchanting.
Beautifully said! So true. Thank you!
Thank you very much, Bev Jo!
Thank you for your work! and for sharing. It's so important!
You're welcome! Thanks for the comment!
Keep up the great work Kollibri! Thanks for sharing.
<blush> aw thanks, Will!
Bravo! Speak for trees, grasslands, wetlands, the full panoply of native plants. Its like the tale of the Emperor and his clothes. We denuded the land with our sprawling constructions festooned with glittering technologies. The child exclaims, but is not heard, the landscape has got no green. Nothing to sponge the water when it rains. Nothing to feed the soil with root exudate carbohydrates. Nothing to open stomata to release vapor that evaporates to cool the microclimate. Nothing that releases water vapor during the darkest hour before dawn to condense and warm with the morning dew. Nothing releasing fungi and bacteria into air that water vapor nucleates around to form cumulus clouds drawing moisture in from the ocean. Instead we huff and puff about the climate changing due to fossil fuel emissions, CO2 rising like a hockey stick, rush to manufacture more electric vehicles, and how artificial our intelligence has become. It’s time to get back to where we once belonged with plants and life.
you've changed my view of the world - and of the PLANTS in it - and also the people near and dear to me: my husband, a musician who now embraces the magic of the plant universe, the ranch mate who has adopted the gardening methods you championed for our market garden, the tracking friends who have the depth of spirit to acknowledge their views on 'invasives' are misbegotten (literally!) - the old Master Tracker remains intractable on this subject, ranting about the horrible plants 'destroying' the landscapes he's been tracking for EIGHTY years - he gets angry when i respond with "the world is changing, it's always changing" - thanks Kolibri!
What a fabulous article, if possible I would love to share with the “greenies” here to show them how wrong they can be. It is imperative to talk to your plants, they do show appreciation. It is unfortunate that in some cases, and I don’t want to be considered racist, but the number of immigrants to our country who don’t particularly like trees on their property either poison them or chop them down, something that one of our neighbours did to two fence lines of trees which were magnificent.
Thanks, Sally! Yes, please share any of my articles widely. That's why I write them!
I have seen trees cut down pointlessly and maliciously more times than I can count, including very recently:
https://kollibri.substack.com/p/a-clear-cut-is-a-clear-cut
Currently, our property laws in the US give people nearly unlimited power to destroy whatever vegetation they would like, and it's time that changed. We should start with protecting mature trees, which have so many benefits, ecologically, economically and aesthetically. A lot of people might not be in the mood to be told they can't do whatever they want on their property, but we really can't afford it anymore.
Next time you're in Marin County, come visit our garden in downtown Fairfax. I'm a 2005 graduate ( the oldest to be accepted at age 62) of the farm program at U.C. Santa Cruz and I think your spirit was there. Since then I've been involved in "restoring" rivers and creeks in Napa. Our work was window dressing for the wineries sucking up all of the water for their green gold. A ton of premium grapes now sells for over $8000. and the valley is now too hot to grow those premium grapes. The thousands of oaks and native riparian shrubs that we planted are all struggling to survive. The invasive Chinese Ailanthus or Tree of Heaven, Black acacia and and star thistle or thriving. They are beautiful but don't offer much to native birds and bugs. I look forward to your next article, keep up the good work.
Peter Anderson
Fellow plant person
I love California and hope to return for a visit soon, so thanks for the invitation.
Last summer I spent a few months in Sonoma County, where wineries are also a huge ecological problem.
I'm not surprised the native restoration work is proving challenging. That's a very common story. In so many cases, the land has been altered so much that the conditions are no longer optimal for the original species. I'm talking about conditions like soil, hydrology, exposure, etc., but also lack of original fauna who might've been key to their success. Historically, Beavers would have played a key role in riparian areas in northern California, so their absence is a big deal. Also, the various chemicals and pollutants associated with conventional agriculture have had had effects over time, down to the level of microorganisms in the soil.
In many cases, introduced plants are tolerant of these changed conditions, or even thrive in them, which is why they succeed.
Ailanthus tolerates nutrient-poor soils, compacted soils, and can establish in places where the topsoil is no longer present. It has been used to remediate acidic mining spoils.
Star Thistle thrives in areas subjected to overgrazing, conventional agriculture, road-building and fire-exclusion.
I don't know much about Black Acacia, if you mean Acacia melanoxylon. But nitrogen-fixing members of the Pea Family (Fabaceae) are very common pioneer species in anthropogenic disturbances.
The point of all this should be clear: If you want to increase the number of native plants and decrease the number of introduced plants, you have to work on the underlying conditions of the site. Simply eradicating one thing and planting another is unlikely to be very successful.
Unfortunately, there is a great lack of money for post-restoration monitoring efforts across the board, especially long-term, so these lessons are not being learned or publicized.
I recommend this article I wrote last year about a landscape I observed in Sonoma County:
"What's "invasive" in this photo?"
https://kollibri.substack.com/p/whats-invasive-in-this-photo
Thanks for your comment and I wish you the best with your efforts.