Wonderous Woodlands: A Guest Post by Dawn Nelson

Beyond the branches, nature tells a story. This engrossing read explores the connection between nature and spirituality through various types of trees. Read on for an exclusive essay from author Dawn Nelson on writing Tree Lore.

As a traditional storyteller and folklorist, part of my creative and spiritual practice is to take daily walks on the South Downs, UK. The gentle rolling hills that skirt a hundred miles of the South’s coastline offer breathtaking views, miles of meadows and wonderous woodlands. Even if it’s just a walk up the hill and across the local farmland, nature has a way of reaching out and grounding you. It’s elemental magic. Air, Fire, Water and Earth, it’s in everything, even the flint and chalk in the furrows of the footpaths.

I have many tree friends on my walks. The oak on the edge of the field, that houses the tawny owl that had a fight with the jay bird that time. The beech that reaches its arms down to touch the long grass of the meadow and that my daughter hugged as a pre-schooler. The rowan, the ash, the birch and the pine all familiar faces to me, each with their stories, lore and of course the elements. The tree has its roots in the earth, its branches in the air, its trunk siphoning water and its leaves soaking up the sun.

Tree Lore comes from decades of walking with trees hearing their lore and stories and holding it close. As part of my research for this book, I visited arboretums, gardens, and sought encounters with many of the trees I was writing about when on hikes and days out. Oak, ash, birch, willow, bay, fig, hawthorn, and yew can all be found in the woodlands and copse that are familiar to me from my local walks.  Apple, cherry, rowan, and hazel are all in my own garden which makes my little cottage garden sound like an estate. I assure you it’s not. They all seem to fit though, companions there to share their lore, stories and sustenance.

There were some very special trees I encountered on field trips. One was a flying rowan; a rowan tree that grows outwards from a crevice in a mountain rockface. I met this one after a challenging climb up Cat Bells, a 451ft/1480m fell in the Lake District, UK. There it was, reminding me to thrive in the face of adversity.

The second was a Wollemi pine, an ancient tree that was thought to have been extinct until it was re-discovered in 1994, in Australia, by canyoner David Noble. I found this tree in a remote and almost forgotten arboretum in West Sussex. I was there to take part in a workshop to connect with the surrounding birch wood and a foray to find this tree was a must. Standing beneath the arboreous arms of that tree, singing, drumming and speaking poetry to it, was an experience I will not forget. It was a tree that spoke of endurance and longevity.

By writing this book I hoped to connect the reader with the trees of the world and the land that holds their roots, through what we are all made up of: the elements. In doing so I have compiled a handbook of tree allies from which people can gain affirmations and insight celebrating the very essence of our woods and forests.