Respect and Reverence for Trees

 

Conceptual drawings of Queen’s Park North, the oval-shaped public park next to the provincial legislative building in Toronto.                                                 JANET ROSENBERG & STUDIO/SUPPLIED

Happy are those
    who do not follow the advice of the wicked
or take the path that sinners tread
    or sit in the seat of scoffers,
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
    planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
    and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

Psalm 1:1-3 NRSVue 

Yesterday I met with a former parishioner for a catch-up chinwag and coffee. He is half my age and an intriguing soul. He works for the regional conservation authority introducing children to the flora and fauna of our area, stretching from Belleville to Bancroft. He's really knowledgeable about may creatures, including trees, He's also something of a nature mystic, connecting his faith with his scientfic expertise, although not within the context of his paid job. 

We got talking about trees, including what I consider the indirect war on trees brought about by climate change. The recent ice storm damaged and brought down tens of thousands of trees across Ontario and closed conservation areas for a week to ensure that trails were safe. 

I though about our conversation today as I read a Globe and Mail article about the impressively generous gift of $50 million from the Weston family for the enhancement of the parkland oval that gives the name "Queen's Park" to the Ontario legislature in Toronto. It is also an acorn's throw from Emmanuel College, the seminary I attended in preparation for United Church ministry. We have been in that park many times, so this is great news. 

The author of the article, architecture critic Alex Bosikovic, lauds the gift and also raises important points about the bigger picture of park maintenance and development in Toronto. He also expresses concern for the magnificent oak trees already in the park, some of them 300 years old: 

Then there are the park’s ancient trees, its most valuable attributes. The planning of this project must begin with a rigorous study by multiple independent forestry experts. The Weston initiative will be a success only if all these trees are healthy a decade from now.

Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, an assistant professor of forestry at U of T, said that building anything here could endanger the trees’ ancient root systems. “The best option would be to avoid development altogether,” she said. If building does happen, she says, a “tree protection zone” should be at least twice as large as the usual Toronto standard.

Whether it is trees of our conservation areas, the forest canopy beyond, or urban forests, we really must treat them as our best friends not as decoration to be taken for granted. As Trump's bizarre trade war lurches around, Canadian lumber is in his crosshairs. No one really asks whether it makes sense to commodify our forests to the extent that we do, selling them to a nation that treats us with contempt. 

I've written lots about how important trees are in the bible from beginning to end, mentioned more often than anything other than humans. Genesis introduces us to the tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Revelation gives us a vision of a city with a sparkling river lined with trees. If trees are this important in scripture, perhaps we should have a theology and spiritual practice of trees to guide us as faithful Christians.