Dame Judi Dench And I Share A Passion For Trees

I just had the pleasure of watching the Dame Judi Dench documentary on trees, Judi Dench My Passion for Trees. (watch full doc below) It was amazing. I have always loved the forest and had a passion for what I call “old creepy trees”. The creepier the better. I always felt like these trees had a story to tell if one would just sit under them and listen.

This film follows Judi’s journey through the seasons and her mission to understand her woodland’s vital role in our history and our future. With the help of some of the best tree scientists and historians in the world, Judi unlocks the remarkable secret lives of trees and the stories that they tell us. With the latest scientific techniques and equipment at her disposal, she is able to truly understand how trees work, and gain an insight into their secrets. from BBC

I am far from alone in my love of old trees. A few years ago I heard about Beth Moon and her tree photographs. I fell in love. These were some of the most beautiful images of trees I had ever viewed. She captured the grand character of each tree she photographed and let it tell its story. I could look at these tree portraits forever.

Beth Moon’s fourteen-year quest to photograph ancient trees has taken her across the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Some of her subjects grow in isolation, on remote mountainsides, private estates, or nature preserves; others maintain a proud, though often precarious, existence in the midst of civilization. All, however, share a mysterious beauty perfected by age and the power to connect us to a sense of time and nature much greater than ourselves. It is this beauty, and this power, that Moon captures in her remarkable photographs. from Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time.

This made me ask “What is the oldest tree?” and I found the answer. It’s right here in the United States.