What does the vision mean for you?
What can we do to spread the vision?

Read the full Trees For Live Vision on the Trees For Life website and discuss it on this website's Vision Forum.

Here's a few ramblings to start with ...

"for its own sake"

That's important to me, though I've only recently realised it.
We can list many reasons why restoring the Caledonian forest is beneficial - carbon sequestration, biodiversity, protecting rare species, storm water management, psychological health ... and on and on.

But for me (and I'm guessing for you too), those are rational justifications for something we want to do, not the original motivation for doing it. So, what does make us want to do it?

I clearly remember my first, accidental, encounter with a remnant of ancient Caledonian forest. I felt awe and wonder and joy. It's those feeling that motivate me.

Spreading the vision

The practical work of TFL is impressive and a joy to take part in, but perhaps the most important thing we can all do is spreading the vision to more and more people.

If all the land owners, policy makers, residents and visitors had restoring a wild forest high on their priority lists, everyone would get on with it on their own patch and it would happen very quickly.

So how do we communicate the vision?

This is where I get stuck. I'm from a science-technology-rationalist background. I don't have a poetic or spiritual vocabulary and even if I did, it wouldn't help when talking to other rationalists. So I support the work weeks, to get other people out into the forest and hope they feel the way I did.

Are there other ways? Is there a way of articulating the powerful sense of rightness about the wild forest? Are the arts a way in? Poetry? Painting? Photography? Story telling?

Your thoughts, ideas and examples would be very welcome. Post them on the Vision Forum