There is an old Icelandic joke which goes: If you get lost in a forest in Iceland, just stand up. The village of Vardø in Norway’s most northern region goes to great lengths to protect its one and only tree during the harsh cold months. Winter is followed by a charming ceremony during which local schoolchildren unwrap the precious tree from its protective covering. Whilst the Icelandic volcanic landscapes and the Norwegian windswept tundra are a wonder to behold, trees are somewhat scarce on the ground.
Switzerland suffers no such shortage with one third of its territory covered in woodland. Lakes and mountains may be the first image of Switzerland that comes to mind, but what would those lush, velvety rolling hills and ragged mountains be without a healthy sprinkling of forests and pinewoods? The revolutionary Forestry Law of 1876 (which has since been subject to only minor amendments) does a particularly good job of managing Switzerland’s 500 million or so trees by ensuring that woods and forests not only serve a recreational function, but that they are also distributed all over the country following a policy of ‘continuous cover’ to protect towns, villages and infrastructure from avalanches, and mudslides. Thanks to a deforestation ban and careful management, agricultural land and Alpine pasture areas are being reclaimed and Swiss woodland is increasing at the rate of an area the size of Lake Thun each year.
From the Norse mythological Yggdrasil, to the Mayan Ceiba tree via the tree spirts of German folklore, trees have long held a symbolic significance in our myths, legends and religions.
Trees, of course, do more than just provide protection and a convenient raw material. From the Norse mythological Yggdrasil, to the Mayan Ceiba tree via the tree spirts of German folklore, trees have long held a symbolic significance in our myths, legends and religions. Our relationship with trees is also firmly entrenched in the scientific realm. Humans, as we all know, breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, whereas trees do it the other way round. We make the perfect couple. Just as we cannot live without water, we need trees. Scientific studies also show that merely looking at images of trees bolsters the central nervous system and induces calm. Contact with the real thing, therefore, can work wonders on our overcharged and overstressed minds.
The Japanese have understood the soothing effect that trees have on the psyche and elsewhere people are following suit. Shirin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) is the latest idea from the land of Zen. Spend time around trees and reap the restorative benefits they say. Once again, science agrees: lower blood pressure, lower heart rates and lower cortisol levels. Looking at trees will allow your parasympathetic nervous system (the ‘rest and digest’ response) to gain an edge over your sympathetic nervous system (the ‘fight or flight’ when quick action is needed). Little wonder then that a walk in the woods leaves you feeling calmer and more serene. Another point in favour of trees goes back to our evolutionary visual system. Our ancestors lived in forest and grassland environments and so our visual system evolved focusing on natural images containing fewer variations in colour and the same amount of detail no matter how much they are enlarged. Our brain focuses on such ‘invariant images’ from nature very easily, but finds it harder to process the ‘variant images’ from our modern world of computer screens and striped patterns. In fact striped patterns (and this includes text) are particularly problematic. Escaping the world of computer screens and modern buildings and stairways with their rectangular patterns and stripes therefore gives our eyes a welcome break.
So if you can’t see the wood for the trees then more trees might actually be just what the doctor ordered. Take time out from your screens (and those troublesome stripes) and put more leaves in your life. Enjoy the natural wonders (and forest management successes) of Swiss woodland and forests, whilst reconnecting with those majestic giants to whom we owe so much. Breathe in, breathe out and think green, green, green.