By Jessica Middleton
Last month, renowned scientist, author, and visionary Diana Beresford-Kroeger came to Windsor as part of a tour to promote her new book, To Speak For the Trees. On Sunday November 3rd, Ms. Beresford-Kroeger gave a talk to a packed Student Life Centre at St. Clair College. She was greeted by a “Green Carpet” of local environmental advocates and students with signs showing their support for the student climate strikes. Several members of the Essex County Field Naturalist Club were there, including Tracey Colenutt who provided some paw paw trees for the event.
Ms. Beresford-Kroeger’s talk mirrored her book in telling of her life’s journey from ancient Celtic wisdom to a healing vision of the forest. She spoke of the trauma of losing both parents by the age of eleven and how a judge spared her from being sent to the orphanage thanks to her family names (her father was an aristocrat and her mother came from a strong Celtic lineage). Ms. Beresford-Kroeger spent her early summers studying under the wardship of Celtic elders, learning about plant medicines and the interconnectedness of life. Her confidence grew, and she completed a double undergraduate in medical biochemistry and classical botany and a Masters in plant physiology by the time she was 21. It was inspiring to hear of some contributions she has made to science over the years, including discovering a form of bioluminescence, developing a famous stroma-free hemoglobin, and making the biochemical connection between human consciousness and tree consciousness well before such things were generally accepted.
The talk culminated with Ms. Bereford-Kroeger sharing her vision for how we can save the forests, and in so doing save ourselves as well. She coined the term “Bioplanning” as the act of aiding and encouraging the connectivity of life in nature. She gave the example of her own property near Ottawa where she is learning to work with the local ecosystem to have thriving gardens and protect rare and valuable species. Ms. Beresford-Kroeger calculates that if every person on Earth plants one tree per year for the next 6 years, we can halt the current climate crisis. Her free app, available at http://calloftheforest.ca/plant-a-tree/, provides all the information required to get started.
Ms. Beresford-Kroeger delivered her talk in a very genuine way, with warmth, humor, and passion. In fact, she was so passionate in sharing her stories that the 1 hour flew by and many of us were left wanting more. The question and answer period was equally fascinating and could have gone on much longer. Fortunately, Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a prolific communicator and we can follow up with any number of her books, documentary and future talks as she continues to share her knowledge and wisdom on trees and life.
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