Synopses & Reviews
"A frank, probing, but ultimately hopeful book" (Elizabeth Kolbert) that shows why the path from climate change to a habitable future winds through the world's forests
In recent years, planting a tree has become a catchall to represent "doing something good for the planet." Many companies commit to planting a tree with every purchase. But who plants those trees and where? Will they flourish and offer the benefits that people expect? Can all the individual efforts around the world help remedy the ever-looming climate crisis?
In Treekeepers, Lauren E. Oakes takes us on a poetic and practical journey from the Scottish Highlands to the Panamanian jungle to meet the scientists, innovators, and local citizens who each offer part of the answer. Their work isn't just about planting lots of trees, but also about understanding what it takes to grow or regrow a forest and to protect what remains. Throughout, Oakes shows the complex roles of forests in the fight against climate change, and of the people who are giving trees a chance with hope for our mutual survival.
Timely, meticulously reported, and ultimately optimistic, Treekeepers teaches us how to live with a sense of urgency in our warming world, to find beauty in the present for ourselves and our children, and to take action big or small.
Review
“Planting trees, protecting, and restoring forests is definitely one of the ways to combat climate change. But only planting the right trees in the right places at the right time, and only restoring forests in the right way. Lauren Oakes travelled widely to gather her facts for this important and beautifully written book.” Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, UN messenger of peace, and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute
Review
“Forests — especially mature ones, with big trees — are clearly crucial to our future. Here’s an in-depth exploration of exactly why, and it’s filled not just with numbers but with stories!” Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
Review
“Oakes knows forests, and in Treekeepers, she introduces us to the vibrant global community working to restore forests of all kinds — and ensure our collective survival. An insightful, beautifully reported, and much-needed guide to the hope beyond the tree-planting hype.” Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction
About the Author
Lauren E. Oakes is a conservation scientist and science writer. She has held various appointments at Stanford University over many years, as a researcher, a lecturer, and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Earth System Science. Author of In Search of the Canary Tree, she lives in Bozeman, Montana.