Between Earth and Sky, a book review

By Tom Atiyeh

Rarely could a book capture the spirit of my recent job transition as well as Nalini Nadkarni’s Between Earth and Sky.

The book was poignant for me as I moved from working at Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center, where staff members were stewards of thousand-year-old stands of Douglas-fir, Western Hemlock, Pacific Yew, and Western Redcedar, to my current work with the urban forest at Friends of Trees.

Between Earth and Sky was published in 2008, and it has taken me over a year to finish it, mainly for two reasons: I didn’t want it to end, and it helped me make the transition from the ancient to the urban.

A well-known environmental professor from Evergreen State College in Washington, Nadkarni weaves poetry and science to encompass forests from canopy to roots. Her view is similar to that of forest ecologist Dr. Jerry Franklin, who said at the conclusion of his recent Portland State University presentation, “There is as much life to explore below the surface as above.”

The 40 assembled poems and 20 pages of recommended reading in Nadkarni’s book will give the intrepid reader plenty to ruminate about and will inspire scholarly pursuits. Her anecdotes and reflections explain her own personal affinity for trees.

I have similar experiences of “knowing” trees at Opal Creek’s Cedar Flats. My childhood wilderness jaunts established landmarks there years before the trail was built to the Franklin Grove. I also “know” many trees along the Native American Whetstone Mountain Trail in Maine.

Recently I began making new tree acquaintances in the Collins Sanctuary adjacent to Forest Park in Portland. Some of the trees were introduced to me by Friends of Trees Executive Director Scott Fogarty, who showed me trees that he’d planted and called them old friends.

Dr. Nadkarni began her tree journey at age nine, when she wrote, illustrated and self-published Among the Birds – My Guide to Climbing Trees. History and life are captured in her new publication, which includes different perspectives on trees and descriptions of their benefits, including goods and services, shelter, protection, health, time measurement, and spirituality.

Her message near the end of her missive relates directly to a theme at Friends of Trees: Right Tree–Right Place.

Between Earth and Sky goes far in describing the full measure of trees’ contributions to our lives, whether within or far from the city, whether at the beginning or end of their lives. I thought of this on a recent visit to a wind-blown section of the Oregon coast, where I saw trees providing their final benefit as wind-shelter on the beach.

I recommend adding Between Earth and Sky to your permanent reference library.

–Atiyeh is the Chief Development Officer of Friends of Trees