This is a post that’s off-topic in terms of social media, but I felt compelled to share … and if you stick with me, I may just make it socially relevant.
I heard author Andy Griffiths speaking about his latest book, The 26-Storey Treehouse, on radio this week and it got me thinking about legendary trees throughout our literature.
Off the top of my head, I thought of:
- Enid Blytons’s The Faraway Tree
- The ents in the Lord of the Rings books (do they count?)
- The glorious Truffula trees in Dr Seuss’s The Lorax
- And even the trees which help Katniss stay alive in The Hunger Games
Can you think of some more?
I love that we celebrate trees like this; they’re a part of nature that protects us and yet also something that needs to be protected. Yet clustered together, as in a forest, trees are often depicted as spooky spaces populated by wicked wolves …
I searched #tree in Instagram today and there were 2,983,470 results. That’s nearly 3 million images! Sure, some weren’t relevant (in the best tagging tradition) but for the most part there was a glorious collection of branches, limbs and stately, uh, treeness. It makes for quite calming viewing.
Similarly on FlickR, there are plenty of tree groups including one with more than 3,000 members. Pinterest has a healthy smattering of leafy giants too, including a board by Cara Fontaine which is quite spectacular.
The biggest tree community on Facebook appears to be Save Trees to Save Earth. If you know of a larger one, I’d love to hear about it. Great organisations like Trees for Life also have nice Facebook communities.
I’ve often said that you can use social media to follow absolutely any interest or passion, and that’s one of its strengths. I’m glad to see such great celebrations of the humble tree.
Now, it’s a beautiful day in Adelaide so I might just go and lie under one …
Prakkypedia 
I like this side of you Prakky. 🙂 It’s nice to think – and sometimes write – about the little things that make us happy, sad, scared, confused or curious. To think that people dedicate time to taking pictures of seemingly banal subjects such as trees, clouds, pebbles or walls, gives me great satisfaction in the human condition. Let’s take some time out. Let’s look around.
Thanks Paul – you’re living up to your kind blogger name. 😉
It’s tricky to juggle social, professional and personal content sharing but I’m trying!
The Ents definately count!
The Tree of Life in Avatar is another that came to mind instantly 🙂
Good one Rach! How could I have missed it? Thanks.
we plant 3000 trees per year on our property from Trees for Life growers that we have had an association with for over 15 years. The tree offer shade in summer / protection from rain in winter to cattle & sheep, as well as bring native birds to the farm. We currently have about 30 galahs living in some of our gum trees around the dam, it is a beautiful sight.
That’s fabulous Robyn! I’d love to get involvedwith TFL and have been a financial member in the past but am yet to find my way into what I can offer.
Not off-topic; just means you’re not just living your “social” life at the fringes: http://www.brasstackthinking.com/2012/09/lamenting-the-social-fringe/
🙂
(and yes, Ents definitely count)
The Ents count! Thanks Ric. *fist pump*