Have you ever heard a plant sing?
Chances are – you haven’t, but brace yourself: The Conscious Club is going to make it happen during two events held at the studio in collaboration with Talking Trees! There will be two Talking Plant concerts led by Bert Barten on Sunday the 29th of Novemberat 12:15 – 13:15 and 13:45 – 14:45, who will… make our plant wall sing!
You will be taken on a magical sound and visual journey – perhaps your only chance to discover the secret life of plants.
An ode to nature bringing awareness to the important role plants and trees play in our lives.
What many people are not aware of, is that trees are highly evolved and intelligent. They have a unique way of communicating with each other through a complex, underground system consisting of their roots. This makes it difficult for us, humans, to hear their “voices” and carry on destroying whole forest, and cutting down trees.
Twenty years ago, an ecologist named Suzanne Simard deciphered the secret language of trees. Turns out that our leafy friends send messages to each other, and send each other nutrients via a network of latticed fungi buried in the soil.
The oldest tree in the world is nearly 5000 years old. We are sure that this tree’s old soul must contain many untold secrets. Imagine all that such a tree has “seen”… different centuries of inhabitants, changes of climate, and the gradual destruction of the environment.
If this magic tree would speak in a human voice, we would probably hear its plea for rescuing the planet. Perhaps it would tell us that cutting down trees is like wiping out our own troops – because it is trees that produce 40% of the Earth’s oxygen, essential for our existence. Or, it would warn us about the increasing pollution levels due to the deforestation taking place on various continents in the world.
“…when you go into a forest and get very quiet and then star with “Deep Listening”, you will come to understand that you are connected with everything…”
- Bert Barten
‘What could be more important than having air to breathe?’
Research was done on the carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane released from Amazonian soils shows that tropical deforestation accelerates the greenhouse effect. Meaning, our temperatures on Earth will continue to increase, causing the Arctic glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise.
The biggest damage is being done in rainforests located in Congo, New Guinea, Borneo, and in the Amazon. 15 million hectares of trees are cut or burnt down each year, and 20% of the Amazon is gone already and much more is under threat.
What are the key causes of deforestation worldwide? Farming, grazing of livestock, mining and drilling applies for more than half of all damage incurred. These are respectively side effects of excess meat consumption and searching for minerals and metals. A large percentage of the trees are cut down for logging (wooden products) and making paper and urbanization. And, a staggering percentage for the production of palm oil which is used in anything from shampoo to crackers.
The truth is, we don’t even need to look far to witness deforestation. The rate of trees cut down in the Netherlands heavily outweighs the amounts being planted by 5:1. It’s a good idea to raise awareness of the damages made right under our noses.
According to a study of Wageningen University, our forests have declined with 5400 hectares between 2013 and 2017. These trees were replaced with heather and driftsand. Theoretically, there is a law in the Netherlands stating that each felled tree must be compensated, but this appears differently in practice.
This year the Amsterdam town hall is planning on cutting down from 15000 to 20000 trees in the city. Anyone who lives here or has visited Amsterdam knows if anything our city is lacking greenery in the endless alleys of canal houses. Why would the town hall agree to such measures? – you might wonder.
Apparently, the maintenance of the bridges has been neglected for decades, and now there is an urgency to repair them as quickly and low in cost as possible. Unfortunately, the cheapest way is to cut down the trees surrounding the canals…
If only those trees had a voice...
Luckily, more and more people are elevating in consciousness, and Bert Barten is one of those unique human beings who is making a change! On 23rd November (12- 13), 25th November (12-13) and 27th November (12-13) we will hold a “Save Our Trees” protest against the future felling plans in Amsterdam. We open-heartedly hope you will join us for this event, because together we are strong and capable of making impact. There are many over 100-year-old trees along the city channels, on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and cutting them down is far from necessary. Bert is going to literally give them a chance to “speak” (or actually sing…) by connecting them to synthesizers. Let their magical sounds bring awareness and prevent them from being aimlessly cut down.
Let’s remember that we are an inseparable part of nature, and without trees and plants we will not survive. So, let’s respect the nature around us.
- Written by Michelle Prygiel