Celebrating majestic trees "in situ" to inspire our leaders?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 7:52 am
Good morning, tree lovers!
I am so happy to have found this community of fellow scientists, tree scouts, and celebrators of nature. The conversations in this forum are an amazing testimony of how much love for nature big trees can inspire.
There are many ways to introduce yourself (one is www.cnolte.com). However, this is a place for exchange. Instead of writing a monologue, I would like to invite you to a process of co-inspiration.
Below are a couple of maxims. Subjective principles of action that I believe to be sufficiently true to let them influence my life. As a scientist, I know how difficult it is to establish truth. Therefore, I’d like to expose them to the scrutiny of like-minded friends that, together, have accumulated hundreds of years of experience working towards a similar cause.
Do they resonate with you? Do they seem true? Under what circumstances? Can you think of personal stories or empirical evidence to bolster or refute? If not – what would you do to find out?
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1. We would be better at protecting Earth’s natural riches if a deep passion for nature was anchored in the hearts of leaders at all levels of society.
2. Memorable interactions with majestic trees in natural settings can offer some of the most powerful experiences to stir such passion.
3. Existing opportunities for interactions with majestic trees are only accessible and attractive to, and thus embraced by, a small subset of leaders.
4. Growing and diversifying the ways people can experience and celebrate majestic trees “in situ” will expand the reach of their inspirational powers.
5. Such new forms of tree celebrations can be developed in ways that do not impair trees, their surroundings, or existing forms of appreciation.
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Taken together, these maxims motivated me and a collective of friends to develop temporary performance art events in and around inspiring trees. For two summers, we have been getting better at tree climbing, circus arts, theater flying, light installations, interactive projections, rope course skills – and at minimizing the traces we leave. Now we wonder whether it would be a good idea to have this experimental canopy circus travel around the States next summer in order to facilitate majestic tree celebrations "in situ" - wherever people invite us over.
But what if we're wrong from the outset?
I'm utterly excited to hear what you think.
Christoph
I am so happy to have found this community of fellow scientists, tree scouts, and celebrators of nature. The conversations in this forum are an amazing testimony of how much love for nature big trees can inspire.
There are many ways to introduce yourself (one is www.cnolte.com). However, this is a place for exchange. Instead of writing a monologue, I would like to invite you to a process of co-inspiration.
Below are a couple of maxims. Subjective principles of action that I believe to be sufficiently true to let them influence my life. As a scientist, I know how difficult it is to establish truth. Therefore, I’d like to expose them to the scrutiny of like-minded friends that, together, have accumulated hundreds of years of experience working towards a similar cause.
Do they resonate with you? Do they seem true? Under what circumstances? Can you think of personal stories or empirical evidence to bolster or refute? If not – what would you do to find out?
---
1. We would be better at protecting Earth’s natural riches if a deep passion for nature was anchored in the hearts of leaders at all levels of society.
2. Memorable interactions with majestic trees in natural settings can offer some of the most powerful experiences to stir such passion.
3. Existing opportunities for interactions with majestic trees are only accessible and attractive to, and thus embraced by, a small subset of leaders.
4. Growing and diversifying the ways people can experience and celebrate majestic trees “in situ” will expand the reach of their inspirational powers.
5. Such new forms of tree celebrations can be developed in ways that do not impair trees, their surroundings, or existing forms of appreciation.
---
Taken together, these maxims motivated me and a collective of friends to develop temporary performance art events in and around inspiring trees. For two summers, we have been getting better at tree climbing, circus arts, theater flying, light installations, interactive projections, rope course skills – and at minimizing the traces we leave. Now we wonder whether it would be a good idea to have this experimental canopy circus travel around the States next summer in order to facilitate majestic tree celebrations "in situ" - wherever people invite us over.
But what if we're wrong from the outset?
I'm utterly excited to hear what you think.
Christoph