Creating a forest from the trees

Climate change is irrevocably linked to deforestation around the globe. Long-standing old growth forests have been decimated, destroyed and replaced by mining, farming and other short-sighted money-making interests. Almost 20 percent of the Amazon rainforests have been lost in the last fifty years. And scientists are continually warning that this dire situation is bringing us dangerously close to the forest’s breaking point. What that means is that the forest is at risk of collapsing into itself and becoming a savannah, filled with scrub and no longer able to be the carbon capture resource the world has counted on for so long.

Many initiatives are at work to help combat this crucial situation. These include the Rainforest Action Network and the International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs to name a few. But one U.S. based organization is working not only to combat deforestation but to preserve the longest living champion trees and their genetic history.

I’ve written a number of posts about Archangel Ancient Tree Archive (AATA), its founder David Milarch – an “irreverent, passionate, third-generation tree farmer from northern Michigan” and their successful program to clone Champion redwood and sequoia trees. Through they’re remarkable innovative efforts, some of the world’s most beloved majestic tall trees have been reclaimed and replanted into new forests with partners around the world in places like the UK’s Eden Project, Australia, Canada and here in the United States.

The latest success story is in Oregon. In 2020, AATA harvested genetic material from one of the world’s largest trees, the Waterfall Giant Sequoia, and successfully propagated it. In 2022 they shipped 2,022 thriving saplings to Eugene, Oregon in honor of the 2022 World Athletic Championships.

And a new thriving forest was born! Just take a look at this short video and watch how fast they’ve grown!

Through AATA’s and Milarch’s heroic efforts and many successes, new forests are growing and will be producing oxygen for us to breath, capturing carbon that deforested areas no longer and providing habitat for all manner of wildlife that are struggling to survive. And best of all, Milarch and his team are providing hope and inspiration for us and for the generations yet to come – hope for a livable planet and positive future.