|
Dear Reader,
Dot doesn’t typically think of “sequoias” and “Detroit” in the same breath. I mean … aren’t sequoias those giants rooted in Northern California and Oregon? Well, yes. But also, not only.
“While the sequoias are threatened by fires and drought in California, they find safer homes in wetter climates,” reads a story in Reasons to Be Cheerful. The incredible account details the mission by a man determined to reforest the world, thereby, he believes, stopping climate change.
The man is David Milarch, an unlikely hero — “a hard-charging gang member, founder of the Detroit Blatz gang, infamous for his wrestling prowess, and an alcoholic, until he nearly died,” the article tells us.
His redemption story includes creating a living library of the world’s strongest trees, named the Archangel Ancient Tree Initiative. He chose the name after having a near-death experience during which, he claims, the archangels steered him towards saving ancient trees and, by extension, the planet.
Whatever you might think of the catalyst, it’s hard to argue with the impact. “Milarch sends his saplings and tissue cultures to places all over the world, including New Zealand; Australia; France; British Columbia, Canada; and Wales,” we’re told. “In the U.S., his coast redwoods thrive in Central Florida, his sequoias in Oregon. His champion red ash clones grow at the Pentagon, and he personally planted a clone of Methuselah, the oldest bristlecone pine in the world at over 4,800 years old, at the Charles University in Prague where Einstein once lectured. At the request of Queen Elizabeth II, he cloned her favorite thousand-year-old oak. His saplings now grow in 55 U.S. cities and on Indigenous land.”
But it’s his work in Detroit that means the most to him. That’s where, working with students, he says, “We empower the kids. We teach them, we give them the materials, and we check in on them.”
You’ll love this story of a man harnessing the power of our world’s mightiest trees as saviours for our planet.
And if you’re seeking more tree-hugging stories, check out these, from our archives, about cataloguing America’s old-growth trees, and trees as a path to family connection for an endangered animal species.
And your old friend Dot shares how trees help mitigate pollution.
Toweringly,
Dot
|
