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Tree Rings: Grieving a Fallen Limb and Pausing to Connect with the Loss - A Nature-Based Therapy Blog: Written By Marilyn Laughlin, LCSW, RYT-500, Certified Nature Therapy Guide

On an ordinary summer day a  few weeks ago, a storm came through Pueblo and ripped off a large limb from the Siberian elm tree in my back yard.  I found it after work.  I was stunned.  It was one of the highest, oldest branches on the tree, full of new leaves and small branches. It fell on the sidewalk, at the edge of the deck, missing power lines and the neighbor’s fence.  I could see where it cracked and broke.  


Once I started to think about cleanup, I thought more about the tree and its loss of a large branch.  Was it a random loss due to the wind?  Can the tree regenerate or compensate for the loss?  Or, is it the first drop that predicts more fallen limbs, each more at risk of falling on my house or garage?  


I learned that these Siberian elms are invasive even though they have been used for neighborhood street trees for shade and appearance for decades in the US.  Trees and other non-human life are “often thought of as objects, cultivated, commodified and substitutable, service providers for humans”.1 This particular elm is also known to be plagued by disease and beetles who chew holes in the leaves, giving them a lacey look.  It’s a large tree (would take at least two of me to hug it), and it provides a big shade to my deck for most of the day.  Birds and squirrels live in it.  I love its look through all of the seasons.  The idea of taking the whole thing down is overwhelming.


Ecogrief (the actual or anticipated loss of non-humans and ecosystems) allows us emotional responses to environmental change. Environmental change (sudden or planned) such as the loss of a tree, may harm well being, at least temporarily.  Through ecogrief, we can restore our connection to nature by feeling the loss of something we see or pass by every day but seldom consider a priority to notice (trees, gardens, or open space). Change and humans’ responses to it could change our responses going forward.  Spending more time in nature and being aware of its challenges to survive may increase our protective behaviors toward nature.


Seeing the cleanup as an ecogrief sensory practice I counted at least 40 tree rings in the limb plus a wider series of white ring(s) closer to the bark showing the recent, wet years.  I placed my hands on the rough, thick, gray bark textured with deep fissures, and expressed thanks for its role in keeping the yard cool and shaded, for being a home or sanctuary for the animals.  Also resigned that it couldn’t stay, it had to be hauled away as waste.  But, mourning the change for a moment soothed my emotions and allowed me to address with calm acceptance how to adapt to the change.


Happy tree hugging!


Reference:  1The Power of Lament:  Reckoning with loss in an urban forest

Catherine Phillips, et al.  EPE Nature and Space 2023, Vol 6(4) 2358-2378  




 
 
 

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