Druids planting Trees: The Grove and the Metonic cycle
“If you would know strength and patience, welcome the company of trees”
Who knows exactly what a tree looks like after growing for a full metonic cycle? That mysterious, harmonious dance of Sun and Moon that brings them back exactly into sync. every nineteen years?
We found the answer one damp Sunday, revisiting the Grove we had planted with friends exactly nineteen years ago. That was part of OBOD’s ‘2000 Groves for the year 2,000’ plan; and whilst it may have fallen short of its target, it was responsible for Druid tree planting worldwide, and Druids sponsoring tree planting at various charities
Now the need for planting is front page news, and common sense tells us that any planting campaign is likely to be most effective with the active suggestion and support of its government, as evidenced in Ethiopia;
‘Ethiopia planted more than 353 million trees in 12 hours on Monday, which officials believe is a world record. The burst of tree planting was part of a wider reforestation campaign named "Green Legacy," spearheaded by the country's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Millions of Ethiopians across the country were invited to take part in the challenge and within the first six hours, Ahmed tweeted that around 150 million trees had been planted.
"We're halfway to our goal," he said, and encouraged Ethiopians to "build on the momentum in the remaining hours." After the 12-hour period ended, the Prime Minister took to Twitter again to announce that Ethiopia had not only met its "collective #Green Legacy goal," but exceeded it. A total of 353,633,660 tree seedlings had been planted, the country's minster for innovation and technology, Getahun Mekuria, tweeted.’ [1]
And conversely, we know that trees and forests will be routinely trashed when that is allowed by those in authority, as reported in the news. Sitting back & waiting for the government to lead the way is not a choice; we simply do not have the time. In the UK our government’s priorities - profit and business over environment and heritage – are only too clear: only ‘people power’ stopped the government from selling off our forests in 2013.
Never mind, we have P C-G instead. In a recent ‘Tea with a Druid’[2] he started the ball rolling when he flagged up a great opportunity to have a tree planted for $1:I pasted the link onto the Grove and Seedgroup Leaders FB page, asking which G&S’s would like to commit to planting a tree for each member, and the response was good. If you are in a group that hasn’t yet heard of this, do suggest it to your colleagues. Another heartening response was a flurry of interest and personal initiative and an exchange of information about tree charities Europe. One of our Grove members has researched a Somerset initiative which we hope will be the recipient of our largesse (and really, it costs peanuts!) very soon.
For tree-planting time is upon us in the UK!
May I suggest that after your Alban Elfed (Autumn Equinox) ceremony you meet for a cup of tea and a chat about what your group can do? And then set a timeframe for collecting money and sending, or leaving it to individual members to do this by a certain date? The exciting Druidic component is that no matter where your trees are planted in the apparent world, in your group you can name the species and imagine their planting is actually being replicated to become and inner or virtual Grove for all members to share… perhaps each person’s Inner Grove will allow access to a path to the ‘Grove Grove?’ Who knows? This is a creative enterprise, so every group’s expression of it will be slightly different.
You will have seen that OBOD will buy ten trees for every ticket sold for our 2020 Gathering; a great initiative in itself, but also guaranteed to remind us all, if travel long distances, that a small donation on top of what the organization has pledged will help to offset our effect on the environment. I know that the cost of offset tree planting has already been factored into a plan for a retreat in Scotland in 2021, and I think we will see this happening more and more.
So, back to the Derby Grove planting: nineteen years ago there was no email or fb for info sharing. All was done by snail mail, phone and laborious methods… but we did it. And so did friends still in the Order; many rallied to the call and their trees, like ours, are still standing to beautify their surroundings whilst being an ecosystem, a habitat and food for birds and other animals, absorbing carbon dioxide and potentially harmful gasses, and releasing oxygen – one large tree supplying up to a day's supply of oxygen for four people. OK, I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but it does no harm to remind ourselves of some of the physical reasons that Druids love trees. Let’s take a breath with, and courtesy of, them now. Ahhhhhh.
For those whose group wants to physically plant their own Grove, here’s how we did it:
We wanted a spot in our favourite park, so we contacted the council. To our statement, ‘…and you should know that we are Druids,’ came the refreshing answer, ‘We don’t mind what you are: if you want to plant trees, we’ll help you.’ And that help manifested as a walk to mark the site with a ranger; them supplying huge bags of compost and a safe site to store our trees (free as ‘whips’ from the Sacred Tree Trust) and then the erection of a small fence to protect them the day after we planted, blessed, dedicated & libated. It was magic!
Nineteen years later, 2019, we wandered through the only rolling parkland in the city, glistening green in the drizzle. We turned a corner to be confronted by a stand of mature trees – was this our baby Grove? There were the slower-growing hardwoods at the quarters, infilled with hazels grown huge, and dripping with nuts. Crouching beneath the foliage, we found the remains of a trampled timber post and wire fence, which had done its job so faithfully.
We ducked into the centre, a world of dim green sweetness: the damp air was fragrant and we felt a dimension away from the occasional dog walker only a few yards distant.
That was how it we planted last time, and this was the result. Nearly twenty years on, I think of heavy digging and the phrase, ‘To everything there is a season’ seems very apposite; in 2019 we will donate money for younger volunteers to wield the spades, but the trees will be planted, as our ancestors did and our descendants will. Trees for our environment, our helter, our climate, our buildings and paper, our rest and refreshment… one tree at a time, to remind us that we, like them, are a bridge between earth and sky: we all have our place. What better use of $1 or £1 as a legacy for our great grandchildren?
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Let’s be those people!
[1] CNN, Inside Africa, 30 July 2019
[2] Philip Carr-gomm’s ‘Tea with a Druid’ public weekly chat, via the Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids