Methuselah a gnarled bristlecone pine from California between the Sierra Madre mountain range and Death Valley desert wasteland
But a tree named Alerce Milenario (Gran Abuelo, "Great Grandfather") was recently discovered in Chile, South America, that may be centuries older, according to tree experts attempting to date it
Coastal redwood Hyperionof California (over 370 feet) is the tallest tree in the world, discovered in 2006, next to other very tall trees.
The largest (not tallest, not widest, but overall biggest, assuming someone has compared it to those massive Tree of Life trees in Africa, the baobab) is General Sherman, who lives in California's Sequoia National Park
Today, August 25, the focus shifts from commercial deals to celebrating and supporting America’s natural wonders. Many parks, like Yellowstone, Yosemit, and Grand Canyon, often offer free admission on this special day [though everyone can get into national parks around the country free for the rest of the year due to a special dispensation that is not widely advertised if one were to look it up], encouraging visitors to experience their beauty firsthand. Organizations like the National Park Foundation and Friends of the National Parks groups host fundraising drives and volunteer events, often partnering with brands like REI and Patagonia for donation matching. Local businesses near park entrances may offer special discounts to park rangers and staff as a token of appreciation. More
A tiny town in Quebec has become the first municipality in North America to officially recognize trees as living beings with a fundamental set of rights.
Terrasse-Vaudreuil, a town of about 2,000 people just west of Montreal, Canada, adopted a resolution on June 9, 2026, to sign the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights.
This declaration was launched in 2018 in response to worldwide deforestation and the perception of trees as nothing more than objects and a resource to be extracted by humans.
Its stated goal is to "recognize the Tree as a sentient living being, a source of Life, and a common good of humanity."
American activist Julia Butterfly Hill will be so happy to hear it as will Luna the Tree
A 2019 petition in support of the declaration had garnered just shy of 88,000 signatures, and Terrasse-Vaudreuil's adoption of its principles marks the first public entity in North America to sign on as well.
The town's Mayor Michel Bourdeau said in a press release translated from French: "By adopting this resolution, Terrasse-Vaudreuil reaffirms its commitment to building a sustainable future.
"This recognition will be accompanied by concrete programs aimed at protecting our tree canopy, planting trees, and raising public awareness of their importance."
Mayor Bourdeau told Canadian outlet CBC that "our biggest ally is the trees" when it comes to fighting climate change.
The town's mayor said he is committed to protecting the canopy, raising awareness of the importance of trees, and planting more of them.
The Universal Declaration of Tree Rights was created in response to worldwide deforestation.
Town adopts tree rights principles
Terrasse-Vaudreuil has promised to abide by the three fundamental principles of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights.
The first principle states: "The Tree, a sentient living being and source of Life, is a common good of humanity."
The second principle states: "Life on Earth depends upon the existence of the Tree."
The third states: "Human beings, endowed with reason and conscience, must act with the Tree in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity."
According to the town's press release, adopting the resolution was a citizen-led initiative inspired by the film Des arbres et des arts ("Trees and the Arts"), by Quebec filmmaker André Desrochers.
The film argues that trees are living beings that communicate with each other through [VOCs and] underground fungal networks that interact symbiotically with roots.
The first article of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights, which claims trees are "sentient," makes a similar argument, though it also emphasizes a distinction between the rights of trees and those of humans.
"The recognition of Tree Rights must not automatically be confused with the attribution of legal personhood," the declaration states.
"In certain legal systems, legal personhood may constitute one mechanism for protecting a natural entity. It is, however, neither a necessary foundation nor the exclusive objective of the Universal Declaration of Tree Rights."
The Universal Declaration of Tree Rights aims to change the perception of trees as simply a resource to be extracted by humans.
The town adopted the resolution after being inspired by a film that argues trees communicate through fungal networks [called mycelia] connected by roots.
The main idea behind recognizing trees as sentient beings is to stop people from viewing the plants "solely as an object, property, raw material or resource available exclusively for human benefit," according to the declaration.
Other natural bodies have been granted similar legal protections in North America on occasion. Quebec’s Magpie River was given legal personhood in 2021 by the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit and the regional municipal council of Minganie (Duck River).
The protection granted the river nine rights, including freedom from pollution, the right to evolve naturally and a mandate to retain its natural biodiversity.
Lake Erie in Ohio was temporarily granted legal personhood similar to that of an individual or corporation through the 2019 Lake Erie Bill of Rights, but a federal judge ruled the measure unconstitutional in 2020.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Bourdeau, the mayor of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, for comment. More
Internationally recognized environmental activistJulia Butterfly Hill travels to Pasadena to headline a public fundraiser supporting community efforts to preserve 193 trees slated for destruction and removal by the PUSD (Pasadena Unified School District).
Her appearance comes as the school district's tree-removal plans have drawn widespread public condemnation, concern, legal action, peaceful protests and demonstrations, and extensive regional media coverage.
Despite weeks of advocacy, the school district has not yet committed to permanently preserving any of the remaining trees slated for destruction and removal.
Trees at San Rafael Elementary School, including mature and protected trees, were removed during bird nesting season without city tree permits or on-site biological monitoring.
Pasadena is honored to welcome Julia Butterfly Hill. She is traveling here to support efforts to preserve the trees of the Pasadena Unified School District.
She is an internationally-recognized environmental advocate best known for her historic 738-day treehouse sit to protect an ancient, giant California redwood, an act of peaceful civil disobedience that inspired people around the world.
Join us for an evening hosted by the youth working to protect the PUSD trees.
New research at Michael Pollan's laboratory at UC Berkeley confirms what Cambridge scientist J.C. Bose, Paramahamsa Yogananda, Peter Tompkins, Christopher Bird, Tel Aviv University researchers, dryads, sensitives, empaths like Dr. Doreen Virtue and Dr. Caroline Myss and gardeners everywhere have known and been telling us for a long time.
Talk to plants? While we may not be able to hear them, plants could very well be talking back. [Perhaps they are not great listeners, after all, but they are conscious enough to "speak"]. They talk all the time and especially if they are having a bad day. (Did we forget to water them again?) For the first time in the world, Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers recorded and analyzed sounds distinctly emitted by plants. The click-like sounds, resembling the snap of popcorn, are emitted at a volume similar to human speech but at higher frequencies, beyond the hearing range of the human ear.
Professors Yosi Yovel and Lilach Hadany (TAU)
Researchers: "We found that plants usually emit sounds when they are under stress, and that each plant and each type of stress is associated with a specific identifiable sound. [That is a distinctive mark of speech rather than just sound making.] While imperceptible to the human ear, the sounds emitted by plants can probably be heard by various animals, such as bats, mice, and insects." More
Science already knew plants "communicate" with chemical signals and scents (VOAs) through roots, leaves, stems:
(The Independent) April 3, 2023: Plants emit [high pitched] sounds when they are "stressed," a group of scientific researchers has discovered.
A team at Tel Aviv University in Israel recorded and analyzed click-like sounds resembling the popping of popcorn.
They found that the sounds plants emitted are at a volume similar to human speech, but humans cannot hear them due to the high frequency.
"Each plant and each type of stress is associated with a specific identifiable sound.
"While imperceptible to the [ordinary] human ear, the sounds emitted by plants can probably be heard by various [naturally more sensitive] animals, such as bats, mice, and insects," the researchers said.
Meditation journeys with specific plant and tree spirits? Yes, Mugwort, Rosemary, Dandelion, Yew, Elder, and Wormwood do it. How can we [humans] achieve a calm mind, cleanse our energy fields, and connect with our hearts in preparation for meditating with plants?
Journeys with Plant Spiritsincludes a progressive series of introductory meditations, adapted from ancient wisdom traditions, to lay the foundation for working with plant spirits.
Emma Farrell explains how to take a connection and relationship with Nature to a deeper level to access plant spirit healing through meditation with plants.
Exploring the nature of plant consciousness and how plants perceive, she details how to achieve a calm mind, cleanse an energy field, and connect with heart in preparation for meditating with plants and trees [dryads], showing how the plants can support us not only in the cleansing process but also in teaching us how to sense what is in our energy field.
Offering a progressive series of preparatory meditations adapted from shamanic and indigenous wisdom traditions, the author reveals how to lay the foundation for communicating, working, and developing relationships with plant and tree spirits -- for spiritual connection, personal development, and inner peace.
She then presents meditation journeys with specific plant spirits, focusing on the frequencies within the plant’s bioresonance that can assist us.
For example, meditation with Mugwort works with the plant spirit’s qualities of alignment and self-awareness to assist with grounding and developing inner vision, whereas Dandelion helps break old habits by working with the plant’s qualities of release, reconnection, and fearlessness.
Each plant is an expression of the spiritual force of Mother Nature and carries a unique blend of her medicine and wisdom. This book details step-by-step how to effectively work with plant spirits for emotional and spiritual healing, enabling us to awaken spirit to become truly multidimensional and whole. More
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WOOLPIT, England - The story of the green children of Woolpit concerns two [Fairy] children of unusual skin color who reportedly appeared in the village of Woolpit in Suffolk, England, sometime in the 12th century, perhaps during the reign of King Stephen (r. 1135–1154). The odd children, found to be brother and sister, were of generally normal appearance except for the green color of their skin. They spoke in an unknown language and would eat only raw broad beans. Eventually, they learned to eat other [surface human] food and lost their green color, but the boy was sickly and died around the time of his and his sister's baptism. More
THE FILM is a journey of hope in the midst of crisis. In the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, thousands of people are unlawfully invading protected lands, devastating centuries-old forests for resources and fast profits.
Now as the health of the entire Amazon [jungle rainforest] teeters at the edge, will Brazil and the world take notice?
Indigenous forest guardian Marçal Guajajara and Indigenous leader Puyr Tembé stand at the frontlines of this fight, risking their lives to protect their ancestral lands from relentless invasions and deforestation.
On the other side -- Valdir, an illegal logger, is trapped in a desperate struggle to make ends meet and sees no other way than continuing to cut down the forest [that supports everyone].
This is the powerful narrative at the heart of We Are Guardians — a story of hope and resilience amidst an unfolding crisis.
Through a tapestry of voices, this award-winning documentary provides a raw and intimate look at the lives of those closest to the Amazon and peels back the layers of this critical situation to reveal a story that ultimately affects all of us.
Directed by Edivan Guajajara, Chelsea Greene, and Rob Grobman, and produced by Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens with Leonardo DiCaprio serving as executive producer, the film is an exploration of the human spirit and our collective responsibility to protect the fragile balance of our world.
Ultimately, it illuminates a path forward, where hope and unity can guide us toward a brighter future for the Amazon and our planet. More
(PBS SoCal) Sept. 12, 2012: Everywhere we turn in California, there's something to eat -- if we know what to look for. Wild foragers and chefs Pascal Baudar and Mia Wasilevich of Transitional Gastronomy shop at the grocery store, but they also head out into the woods regularly, carrying backpacks and knives and compasses, finding edible plants scattered across public lands. They like it so much they've turned it into a business, with Pascal leading interested food nerds out into the woods to collect wild plants like mugwort, elderberries, lambs' quarter, cattails, purslane (verdolagas), wild radishes. and more, while Mia cooks up a feast using these wild ingredients.
KCET.org/socal/food/california... Eli Newell went out on one such veggie hunt with Pascal and learned about native versus invasive plants in Southern California's parks. (Which would you guess peaches are?) We ate flowers and asked Pascal why exactly he makes a habit of rubbing poison oak on his hands and face. Enjoy the video. And be cautiously hungry out there! Music: "Petit talibé" instrumental version, Löhstana David.
(Suzanne Joy Teune) Oct. 28, 2023: Hello! This month is the month of foraging. It is a full moon as I upload. I am calling it the "moon of colored trees." This is a very special moon, for this season does not last long. Foraging is something I began doing for art when I attended the Burren College of Art, Ireland. I have been doing it and incorporating items gathered into my art ever since. This video is to show that it's not just about gathering supplies from nature. It's far deeper than that. It's a sacred spiritual practice. This is why I am in awe and inspired by the Indigenous people of the Americas and their art. I don't know how to put this into words.
Music: "If You Wonder" by Nebulae. I reference the short film The Great Kind Mystery by artist Ella Morton (ellamorton.com). Thanks to the late Alice Ladas who died at age 102 for her pink tights.
It started around 1900 with Ajahn Mun Bhuridatto, who wanted to practice Buddhist wandering asceticism and its meditative practices like the Buddha, according to the standards of pre-sectarian Buddhism.
After studying with Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo and wandering through the northeast of Thailand (Isan), Ajahn Mun reportedly attained the stage of enlightenment known as non-returning and started teaching in Northeast Thailand.
He strove for a revival of Early Buddhism, insisting on a strict observance of the Buddhist Monastic Code known as the Vinaya and teaching the practice of meditative absorptions (jhāna) and the realization of nirvana (Pali nibbāna) in this very life.
(Anyone who attains even the first stage of enlightenment called stream entry glimpses or touches nirvana).
Initially, Ajahn Mun's teachings were met with fierce opposition, but in the 1930s his group was acknowledged as a formal faction of Thai Buddhism, and in the 1950s the relationship with the royal and religious establishment improved.
In the 1960s, Western students started to be attracted to this back-to-basics movement, and in the 1970s branch monasteries of the tradition began to be established in the West.
Underlying attitudes of the Thai Forest Tradition include an interest in the empirical and verifiable effectiveness of Buddhist practice, the individual's cultivation and development, and the use of skill in practice and living. More
Rewilding a Forest | Artist and Poet Maria "Vildhjärta" Westerberg
(Campfire Stories) Feb. 23, 2024: This film is part of a series called "Something Beautiful for the World,” which is a collaboration between Reflections of Life, Campfire Stories, and Happen Films.
Maria was a romantic, animal-loving, dreamy child who, growing up, had a hard time conforming to the demands associated with the trajectory towards a "normal" life. As a young adult she became depressed and was encouraged by her therapist to go for walks in the forest.
The myriads of funny-looking twigs and sticks she found along the way immediately put her on a path to recovery. Now, 25 years later, she's a celebrated "twig poet," whose art is shown in galleries throughout Sweden.
When a climate-related crisis strikes the forest where she lives and works, she's forced into a new type of creativity in order to save the place that once upon a time saved her.
Production
Filmed in: Värmland, Sweden. Featuring: Maria "Vildhjärta" Westerberg and Johannes Söderqvist (vildhjarta.net) and Martin Jentzen (jentzen.se). Produced, filmed, and edited by: Mattias Olsson for Campfire Stories (campfire-stories.org). Sound mix: Boris Laible (borislaible.com).
The films of the series "Something Beautiful for the World" explore how small acts of love and kindness have the potential to ripple out and change the world, touching hearts and minds in ways that we could never begin to imagine.
We'll be sharing a total of 12 short films, from across five continents -- releasing one per month for the whole year of 2024 -- four from each filmmaker.
More information about the three production companies:
A huge thanks to the following brilliant people, who gave so generously of their time to help with translations, enabling us to provide subtitles for this film, in the following languages:
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