Forest Inspiration

This past weekend I had the honor of attending a conference at the incredible Mount Hermon Camp and Conference Center in the Santa Cruz mountains of California. We heard Richard Dahlstrom speak and learned some amazing things about the trees on the grounds and in the nearby Henry Cowell National Park that are powerful reminders.

Although towering nearly 400 feet in the air, these trees are known for their shallow root systems. They steady themselves by leveraging the power of the grove. The roots of each tree intermingles with the adjacent ones to create a strong mesh under the forest floor. There is a lesson here about the power of teamwork and community.

With those shallow roots and the consistent ocean mist coming from the coast, these trees get a remarkable 70% of their water needs from fog. Literally, they get nourishment from the sky. They reach up and out to survive in draught-prone summers. There is a lesson here about resourcefulness and resilience.

There is a tree in the national forest that they estimate to be 3500 years old. 14x the tenure of the United States. It has lived through pandemics, wars, and territory disputes. It was already a very old tree when Jesus was born on the other side of the world. In what will become Europe and the Middle East, warring tribes were experimenting with bronze and it was drinking fog and putting out roots. 140 generations have come and gone. Still it stands. These is a lesson here for legacy building and taking a long view.

I’ve always appreciated products that used principles of biomimicry in their industrial. Perhaps our leadership should find inspiration in nature as well!