What first comes into your mind when you hear or see the word “tree”? Is it tree bark, gnarled or shiny or covered with ivy? Is it autumn leaves tinting now all different colours? Is it a walk in a wood or a city tree on a crowded street, or a childhood memory of doing a bark rubbing. Free association (seeing what is the first thought a word suggests) is an idea counsellors use to help explore a person’s thoughts and feelings and experiences, and it can be fun for anyone to try.
I think what stands out most for me about trees is their solidity and endurance, how they withstand time and weather and bud again in spring. A cherry tree in my garden has had scarcely any leaves this year, but still it stands.
Of all nature, it’s probably trees and woods that have become most recognized as beneficial to mood, mental health and wellbeing. That’s partly down to research such as Roger Ulrich’s famous discovery of the benefits of trees to patients recovering from surgery, but it’s also down to our own instinctive response to trees. It’s why immersive experiences of nature have become known as “forest bathing” no matter where they take place – as if forests stand for rest and renewal more than any other environment. Is it because they shelter us overhead so we feel enclosed? Is it because we know we depend on trees as our planet’s lungs? Or because they are home to so many other creatures?
The other day I came across wood ants – not for real, but in David Attenborough’s Life in the Undergrowth of 2005. As their name suggests, they live in conifer forests, where they build nests of mounds of pine needles. Each ant is only 8 mm long, but the nests may be 2 metres, as they live in communities of thousands. They depend on the conifer trees for nesting and also for resin and for insect prey. Just one glimpse of the teeming and exuberant life supported by every tree and wood.
Trees have become known particularly as calming, slowing heart rate and lowering blood pressure. But they’re also exciting – gusting in strong winds – and colourful – at different times of the year – and full of life. Trees and woods can be light and bright, or dark places of mystery. No wonder many stories have wooded or forest settings – think the enchanted glades of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or the forests of countless fairy tales, or the stories of Julia Donaldson for children. But a single city tree can also lift the spirits, a refuge amidst traffic fumes and concrete.
All this is why I’m running an art for wellbeing challenge on a trees theme for the month of November, Into The Woods. Every other day I’ll send out a different art idea about trees or woods, to try from home in your own time (with an optional Facebook group to share artwork). Just go to
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/710328590937
to sign up. Art and creativity can be so beneficial for wellbeing themselves, so hopefully experiencing trees by getting creative could really boost mood, as winter nears.
Medley 