International Day of Forests: March 21
How many people even know that there is an International Day of Forests? Given the present situation of climate change, which is wreaking havoc on forests and all nature due, in large part, to us humans who should be shaking in our boots. We have failed to do our share to prevent global warming. At this late date, can we atone and make a concerted effort to help to protect at least one of nature’s special treasures - our trees and forests?
In a world where over 90% of its people live in urban situations, it behooves us to take care of forests which, not so many years ago, covered much of the earth, especially in North America. Early pioneers saw in trees and forests a wide variety of wood products which did, and continues to provide lumber for homes, dwellings, buildings, furniture etc. Today, Indigenous Peoples and conscientious conservationists have taken a stand to protect our forests and trees from wanton destruction and clear cutting, often without success or support of governments that cast a blind eye to the cry for justice for the earth.
There are many forests throughout the world, including the largest, the Amazon which shares its location with nine nations: the Tropical Rainforests in Congo, New Guinea, Borneo, Burmese, and Valdwan. Other beautiful forests include Germany’s Black Forest, United States’ Redwood’s National and State parks, and Australia’s Duintree Rainforest to name a few.
Not to be outdone in beauty are Canada’s magnificent lakes and forests, located in every province, claiming almost 10% of the world’s forests. Recently, I read about Canada’s amazing boreal forest which is the world’s largest intact forest ecosystem. It stretches across 1.2 billion acres (485 million hectares) of northern Canada, from Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador. It represents 25% of the world's only intact forest, even more than the Amazon rainforest. In the almost decade since these statistics appeared, it would be interesting to know how much of the boreal (northern) forest has been victim to fires, climate change, resource development, pipelines, roads, and urban development.
Considering the greed in our world, we realize that only concentrated effort will help to preserve the trees and forests that populate our world. Changing our lifestyle is our only hope, so go ahead, hug a tree, and thank Mother Nature on behalf of all those who care!
I share with you the lovely poem, Trees, by Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918).
-Sister Jean Moylan, CSJ
Images: Unsplash: Arnaud Mesureur | Olena Bohovyk
