Our Philosophy.
“I believe that our true nature is to be caretakers, stewards of this earth. I believe that the true nature of our power is not to degrade and destroy but to protect this living world and to protect each other.'“
— Ethan Tapper, from How to Love a Forest
Reimagining
“As the forest and I lean on each other, as I lay my hands upon it again and again, we will embody a reimagining of what it means to love a forest, a reimagining of what it means to live in this world with compassion.”
Ethan Tapper, in How to Love a Forest
In a world where forests are often mythologized and anthropomorphized, we believe in reimagining forests as they truly are: as dynamic, complex ecosystems that are resilient and beautiful and intrinsically valuable — and also deeply wounded and in need of our help.
Though humans have often been poor stewards of ecosystems in the past, we believe that we can also reimagine our relationship with forests: managing them in ways that can help them heal from the wounds of the past, navigate the many threats and stressors of the present and move into an uncertain future with grace.
Responsibility
“Only we can fulfill our promises to this biosphere, to this forest, to future generations. I am ready to step into responsibility, to live a life of purpose, to help build a better world.”
Ethan Tapper, in How to Love a Forest
What do we owe to forests? What do we owe to each other? We believe that, in addition to being able to derive benefits from ecosystems, we have a responsibility to care for them. In a climate crisis and a biodiversity crisis, in a world of young, simple, degraded forests, non-native invasive plants, animals, pests and pathogens, pollution, deforestation and more, we believe that we have a responsibility to take action to care for our forests, our ecosystems and our biodiversity on behalf of everyone — and on behalf of future generations.
Central to this idea of responsibility is the fact that we have no perfect choices — that many of the things that we must do to care for ecosystems are counter-intuitive, confusing and bittersweet. We believe that it is our responsibility to use the tools at our disposal to be true stewards of our forests, even when it requires us to get a little uncomfortable.
Relationship
“Our choice is not if we want to have a relationship with ecosystems. Our only choice is what we want that relationship to be.”
Ethan Tapper, in How to Love a Forest
Everything we do — the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the energy and the resources we consume — impacts ecosystems and peoples somewhere. We cannot choose if we want to have a relationship with forests and other ecosystems, only what that relationship will be. We believe that the most beautiful relationship that we can have with ecosystems is one which is active and adaptive and dynamic — a true partnership.
In our forest management work, reimagining our relationship with forests means considering how we can use practices like the cutting of trees to help forests and other ecosystems become more abundant and resilient, while also producing the renewable resources (wood) so vital to the future of our planet, its people and its ecosystems.
Humility
“I had no desire to dominate this forest, to control it, to force it to conform to some idealized image. More than anything, I wanted it to be itself: beautiful and wild, free to go its own way. I believed that this forest, its creatures, its patterns and processes, its relationships and connections, had intrinsic value—the right to exist. I knew that the best and most vital parts of this living system could not be engineered, that they must create themselves. I also knew that in this moment they needed my help.”
Ethan Tapper, in How to Love a Forest
Central to our work is the idea that forests and other ecosystems have intrinsic value, and that we may never fully understand all of their pieces and parts. We need to have the humility to recognize this, and also the courage to act — to do what we can to guide them toward a better future.
All of the forest management that we do comes from a place of deep respect and care for forests and other ecosystems, aspiring to emulate natural patterns and processes and to restore functional, vibrant forested ecosystems and a more abundant biosphere.
Legacy
“Behind us, the world is crumbling. Ahead of us is a roaring stream. What bridges will we build so that our children may cross the water?”
Ethan Tapper in How to Love a Forest
What kind of a world will we give to our children and our grandchildren? In a reality in which it seems that each generation inherits a biosphere that is less abundant, less intact, less functional than the last, we believe that it is our responsibility to do what we can to help our forests become a greater gift to future generations. Using forest management as a tool, we believe that we can help ecosystems not just survive but to thrive: to rediscover an abundance and a beauty beyond our wildest imaginations.
“A beautiful forest grows on the hillside of this world. It is a forest of justice and equity, biodiversity and ecological integrity, a world that honors both the intrinsic value of this biosphere and the intrinsic value of its people. This forest will not be unearthed through inaction or subjugation, through stubbornness or complacency—only through relationship and responsibility, humility and courage, pragmatism and change. We already have the power to make this forest a reality—we just need to choose to do so.”
— Ethan Tapper, in How to Love a Forest
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