Beginning with the powerful quote, ‘But man is part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself,’ Suzanne Simard’s newest book Finding the Mother Tree tells the story of her most profound discoveries about our forests and their impact, whilst reflecting on the events in her life that propelled her research forward.

For those who are unfamiliar with her, Dr Suzanne Simard has dedicated her life to the forests and is best known for her research on the key role fungi plays in tree communication, what is often referred to as the ‘Wood Wide Web.’ Once ridiculed for her ideas, she is now a Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia, as well as a mother, cancer-survivor and founder of The Mother Tree Project. She has even hosted a popular TED talk about her research.

Growing up in rural Canada with the natural world on her doorstep, Simard’s appreciation and connection with the forest becomes clearer with every turn of the page. Each chapter sucks you into her world of towering red cedars, snow-capped firs and mushroom-covered cottonwoods.

Those who are expecting a step-by-step guide on how to save our forests may be disappointed - that is not the goal of this book. Instead, Finding the Mother Tree is a tapestry of personal accounts and scientific insights that teach us a multitude of lessons about humanity's relationship with nature, while encouraging us to foster this relationship ourselves. It delves into the science behind tree communication and the research that led her to these discoveries, with accompanying anecdotes from her life. As any environmental-based book in the 21st century must do, it touches on the challenges of the climate crisis and harsh policies that negatively impact our ecosystems. However, in good Bloom in Doom spirit, this book palpably maintains a sense of gritty optimism throughout.

Finding the Mother Tree begins with a 20 year old Simard working for the forestry industry, struggling to understand why plantations of new trees were dying when her tree-felling ancestors had a truly thriving forest. In these early chapters, we also begin to see the first roots of her journey in understanding the vital role fungi plays in forest ecosystems - something for which, 40 years later, she would be world-renowned for.

From this point, we follow Simard through career changes, research trips and family bust-ups. One of the struggles that is repeatedly touched on is her battle with forestry policy makers and, more surprisingly, her own fellow scientists. Reading about how Simard was repeatedly shot down for her radical ideas, and yet persisted each time to fight for her research, really stressed the passion and drive she has for her work. The tone of her writing is honest and she also shares some of the more intimate details of her life, such as her battle with cancer, part of what makes this book so intimate and moving.

Throughout her book, Simard highlights and honours that her research is building on traditional indigenous knowledge of the forests, rather than claiming it as completely her own. In one of the later chapters, she recounts telling her daughter and niece that the concept of an underground fungal network used for communication was first coined by the Skokomish Nation from the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. They describe this symbiotic relationship ‘as an intricate and vast system of roots and fungi that keep the forest strong.’ The book also acknowledges that the term ‘Mother Tree’ was used by an elder of the Secwepemc Nation called Mary Thomas, long before Simard’s research began.

What really comes through when reading Finding the Mother Tree is just how different to most other academics Simard’s approach to ecology and conservation is. She explains how we cannot compartmentalise the environment and look at trees or soil in isolation. This doesn’t represent how the ecosystem works as a whole. Instead, we must look through the lens of connectivity and entanglement to get a fuller understanding. ‘Diversity matters,’ she writes. ‘And everything in the universe is connected - between the forests and prairies, the land and the water, the sky and soil, the spirits and the living, the people and all other creatures.’ Simard’s narrative weaves science and spirituality together, a powerful stance which she again credits back to indigenous ideals. It is a perspective often not told by academics, which is part of what makes this book so important.

To accompany this tapestry of science and spirituality, there are two small chapters of glossy images taken by Simard. These highlight the beauty of Canadian flora and fauna, with wonderful photos of fungi, mother trees and bear cubs. There is also a striking image of Simard herself, sitting beneath a towering mother tree (which I personally have torn out of my copy to put on my wall because I liked it so much!).

In the prologue of Finding the Mother Tree, Simard reflects on how her research has shifted forestry policy in a more positive direction, rejoicing in the fact that there are now young foresters out there encouraging forest diversity rather than resisting it. She also introduces ‘The Mother Tree Project,’ which she began following her recovery from cancer. This is a large experiment taking place in the forests of British Columbia with the goal of identifying sustainable harvesting methods that still account for forest resilience. If you want to learn more about the project, you can watch a short video on it here.

Finding the Mother Tree signs off with a call to take humanity’s disconnect with nature into our own hands, to connect with the trees and - most importantly - to stay hopeful. In this book, Simard manages to seamlessly blend science and spirituality with an intimate, personal story of passion and determination to inspire us all. To quote the final line of Finding the Mother Tree: Vive la forêt! Long live the forest.

Caitlin Thomas

Caitlin is an aspiring ecologist with a passion for marine ecology and accessibility in science. She is currently interning as an ecological consultant and will graduate in 2022 with an Ecology and Conservation Biology degree from the Uni of Sheffield. After this, she hopes to volunteer with some marine mammal charities. In her free time, she enjoys long hikes, watercolour painting, veggie cooking, and getting involved with science communication charities.

Find her on Instagram (@caitlin.ecology) or Twitter (@CaitlinAThomas2).

Book Review: Finding the Mother Tree by Dr Suzanne Simard

Caitlin Thomas