Why Trees Matter for All Life with Diana Beresford-Kroeger, Ph.D.

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Scientist and Celtic wisdom-keeper Diana Beresford-Kroeger invites us into a living relationship with trees as essential partners in planetary healing. Bridging modern botany, medical biochemistry, and ancient Irish teachings, she reveals how forests regulate climate, generate oxygen, influence rainfall, and sustain ocean life through intricate biochemical exchanges. Drawing from her early immersion in Gaelic ecological knowledge and her groundbreaking scientific research, Beresford-Kroeger presents a compelling vision: trees are not resources, but elders and allies. She explains how compounds released by trees support human health, how “mother trees” nurture entire ecosystems, and why restoring global forests is critical to stabilizing Earth’s atmosphere. At the heart of this conversation is her practical “bioplan”—a simple, collective strategy of planting native trees that could, within a generation, reverse climate imbalance. With urgency and hope, she calls each of us to participate in reforesting the planet and renewing our reciprocity with the natural world. This dialogue is both a scientific awakening and a mythic remembering, inviting us to see forests as the green heart of life itself. (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)

Bio

Diana Beresford-Kroeger, Ph.D. is an Irish-born botanist, medical biochemist, and author who bridges cutting-edge science with ancient Celtic wisdom about trees and forests. Orphaned in Ireland and taught by her elders in the Brehon and Druidic traditions, she has become a globally recognized voice for the protection of the world’s forests and an early visionary on climate change. Through her scientific work and her “Bioplan” for replanting the global forest, Dr. Beresford-Kroeger invites ordinary people to enter into a renewed, reciprocal relationship with trees as vital allies in healing the planet.

Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s books and films include:

Books:

• Arboretum America (University of Michigan 2003)
• The Global Forest: Forty Ways Trees Can Save Us (Penguin Books 2011)
• The Sweetness of a Simple Life (Random House 2015)
• To Speak for the Trees (Random House Canada 2019)
• Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests (Random House Canada 2024)

Her Documentary film:

• Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees 

To learn more about the work of Diana Beresford-Kroeger go to: www.dianaberesford-kroeger.com

Topics explored in this dialogue include:

• What was Beresford-Kroeger’s personal initiation into the ancient Celtic oral tradition
• What is the great Irish tradition of Senchus Mór
• How Ireland has been deforested
• What was the impossible task of cutting down a field of barley
• How forests regulate climate
• What is the ancient Celtic tree wisdom
• What is the global “bioplan” for reforestation
• How forests and the ocean have an ecological connection
• What is the importance of trees in making oxygen, and photosynthesis
• How trees can contribute to human health/cancer prevention
• What is the importance of “mother trees” and forest intelligence

Host: Justine Willis Toms    Interview Date: 6/19/2026   Program Number: 3865

Music Playlist

Album: Celtic Aire
Artist: Dordan
Track 12 McSorley's Repose