Steward's Corner

Steward's Corner asks five questions of Stewards doing their bit towards planetary flourishing, from a range of disciplines, across different realms of expertise, from community builders and entrepreneurs, to scientists, artists and designers.

What we hope is to plant Five Seeds of Transformation, to give rise to a living forest of inspiration and actions that contribute towards collective thriving.

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Evolving Forests bridges the need we have to build with regenerative materials, including timber, and the wisdom and knowledge that forest ecosystems already possess, to ensure we act in right relation at a societal level, to ensure those ecosystems continue to thrive for generations to come.

Jez Ralph - Founder and director of Evolving Forests.

What does a flourishing future mean to you?

As a forester, we think in decades and centuries, my future is that of great grandchildren future and beyond. A future where there is a symbiosis with the landscape we inhabit, where we have to take materials and foods, but give back as much if not more.

What current challenge are you aiming to solve?

I'm tempted to say our challenge is to bring symbiosis back to our forest systems that enables them to be be resilient, to flourish and also provide us with food and shelter. But actually the real challenge is how to communicate the need for complexity. Resilient forest systems will be

complex and so will our relationship to them but without that complexity we put the landscapes we rely on at risk. In the world of simple

messaging this feels the biggest challenge.

If you could incept one question, quote or word, into the collective mind to help us bridge into a thriving future for all, what would it be?

Community and an end to "me" culture. Burn the self-help books, crush the earphones that close the door on the rest of the world, listen to a podcast on a subject you hate. We need to open our minds again to become more a community than a set of individuals.

What's the first best step someone can take, who is interested in your field?

To firstly understand the time-frames foresters work in, and to be excited about that. When we decide what trees to plant today we are asking

ourselves what the next century will bring. I find this deeply humbling and exciting all at once. Then find a forester, ask them if you can spend a day with them, immerse yourself in the act of silviculture even if just for a few hours and see how it feels.

What do you hope future generations will say about this moment in time?

Perhaps they should say this was the moment we turned out backs on the "want" culture. The moment we became driven by what the landscape and the earth can sustainably supply rather than what we demand it supplies.

Or perhaps they should say this was the moment of maximum hedonism when cheap travel, cheap food and globalisation allowed some lucky people to maximise their lives in a way we can no longer do? Whatever they say, I hope they are inspired by what we do and feel that we laid a groundwork for their collective contentedness.

Discover More about Evolving: https://www.evolvingforests.com/

land stewardship | forestry | silviculture

Steward's Corner