The World's Forests

Autumn Meadow Folk Art, Georgianne Holland, 2010

I have had a fascination with trees for as long as I can remember. I even bought a mediocre house because the trees on the property were magnificent! Not my best financial idea, but certainly one that proves I can go nuts over trees.

I have teamed up with the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) to include my passion for trees as part of my folk art enterprise. When anyone orders one of my original folk art designs from my Etsy shop, I arrange with the ADF to have planted, in their honor, a tree in a U.S. national forest. I am very excited that such a program exists to make my work as an artist a small part of keeping trees healthy in this country.

I started to think about forests around the world, and know that national forests in America, while close at hand, are not the only forests in a suffering ecology. I want to learn more about the world's forests and the ecological miracle they demonstrate. I will be posting my findings as I come across them, along with beautiful tree images I find along the way!

"Across the world, forests and the soil beneath them absorb about a quarter of all carbon emissions. This is an indispensable contribution to life as we know it, and forests offer many others, too. They house more than half the word's species of animals, birds and insects...Forests are also the source of most staple foods and many modern medicines. They provide livelihoods, wholly or partly, for about 400 million of the world's poorest people." The Economist, September 25, 2010.

My fascination with forests and trees is personal as I feel a connection to the earth whenever I look at a tree. Beyond the personal, forests and trees are a vital part of the earth, and I would love to hear about your feelings about, and experiences in, the forest.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne