I was delighted to stumble upon a feaure called "The Secret Power of Trees". (Perhaps you can also enjoy this programme at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01p7fgv/The_Secret_Power_of_Trees/) It was a fascinating programme about how we interact with forests and how they might impact our health....
I like really liked the idea of Japanese Forest Bathing, or 'Shinrinyoku' as it is known in Japanese. Apparently an age old practice of strolling through the woodland... Sound prety idyllic and has been shown scientifically to improve not only psychological but physical well-being. Boosting the immune system! It was also shown that exercising in a forested environment, as opposed to an urban one, lowers your blood pressure and other physiological parameters further. That's pretty neat, if you ask me.
(Some of the scientific evidence to back up a good walk in the trees being good for you... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793346/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793341/)
The Aude valley with Rosa; August 2011
I was also really intrested in the social and cultural aspect of this programme.It explored our relationship with forests and woodland. In Great Britain, we have quite an affectionate view of forests, perhaps related to classic childhood novels such as Winneh the Pooh's 100 Acre Wood. Other countries, such a Germany, have more sinister tales of woodland, with the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm associating forests with witches and wolves, danger and secrets.
Tentsmuir forest with Imogen; March 2010
They are pretty amazing organisms. Some of the largest living things on earth, but so non-threatening. There great age seems to instill them with a sense of wisdom and understanding. And their great height with some sort of property of reaching into the heavens and being above the trivialities of human exsistance. All these things make it even more sad when woodland and forests are destroyed...
Lake District; October 2010
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