Polly Dyer – Seattle • Entered by Penelope Peterson on April 1, 2022
GOB Book Club
March 31, 2022
Participants and Hours
| Pre Planning hours | 20 |
| Post Admin hours | 3 |
| Activity Hours | 2 |
| Participants | 16 |
| Total Hours | 55 |
Key Issue: Landscape Planning (Forest Plans, RMPs, TMPs, etc.)
Activity Type: Education & Outreach (tabling, films & lectures, regional B-walks/works)
Key Partners: Polly Dyer Seattle Broads and a few Broads from other states
Short Description of Activity
For this Book Club, our group read and discussed, Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest, authored by Suzanne Simard and published in 2021. Written both as a memoir and a description of her research work as a forest and conservation scientist, Simard brings together her personal and her professional experiences to discuss birth, death, motherhood, community, and regeneration. Finding the Mother Tree constitutes the fifth book that our group has read about trees. Indeed, Suzanne Simard served as inspiration for a main character in one of these other books, Patricia Westerford in The Overstory. At one point in last night’s discussion, I asked the group to compare and contrast Finding the Mother Tree with these other four books. Many in the group found the greatest similarities between Simard’s book and that of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass because both authors weave together their personal lives with their work as forest biologists to show how they their lived experiences informs their research and their research informs their lives. A major difference is that, as a Potawatomi professor, Kimmerer also explores the role of indigenous knowledge as an alternative to Western mainstream scientific methodologies.
Reflection/Evaluation
Last night we had the best attendance ever at our Zoom Book Club—sixteen Broads, mostly from Seattle, but a new Broad joined us from the Nor’easter Broadband. We also welcomed a new member of our Polly Dyer Seattle group to the Book Club. As Book Club leader, I strive to inspire thoughtful and spirited discussion of the book and related environmental issues. Last evening’s discussion was a lively one, precipitated by one member leading off by stating that she didn’t like the book and then explaining why. Accepting this divergent opinion allowed others to feel free to honestly express their views. Our new member from Seattle later objected to the statement made that “trees are human.” This led to the group attempting to unpack the meaning of attributing humanity to trees—was this intended literally or was it meant to suggest that trees have agency? Is it a problem to anthropomorphize trees? Why or why not? How does this relate to some indigenous peoples’ views of the forest? After we concluded our two-hour discussion and signed off until next time, I immediately received an email from one of the Book Club participants who wrote, “Wonderful discussion! I love this group! You facilitate these discussions so graciously!” This morning another Book Club member called me to thank me for such a stimulating discussion and exchange of alternative views. Then another member emailed me with these words, “Fascinating discussion last night… and one of the best books I’ve read. I was mesmerized by it. Thanks for organizing the book club. I really treasure everything about it!” Thus ends another successful Book Club for the month!