It has become a tradition for our company to plant a biodiverse forest in the spring with The Forest Forever Foundation. Since 2019, the Foundation has been purchasing deforested areas and forests threatened by logging and taking care of them based on standards. Assisted Natural Regeneration Alliance. In accordance with the Foundation's statutory objective, „Real estate transferred to the Foundation and purchased by the Foundation shall not be further sold or encumbered, and forested areas shall not be subject to logging or clearing. (...) All of the Foundation's forests shall be made available to the public.” On the challenges of forest biodiversity we already wrote about this last year.
At MATERIALITY, we have been supporting the Foundation since its inception, contributing annually to the fund for the purchase of land and forest seedlings. In this way, we have contributed to the planting of 5,000 m2 biodiverse forest. However, simply donating funds does not give you the same pleasure as digging a hole with your own hands and carefully planting a tree, which is why we have been going out into the field with the Foundation for two years now to experience this joy for ourselves!
Last Friday, we went to Stary Grabów in the Podlaskie Province, where the Foundation purchased another forest area after logging. We planted deciduous trees and shrubs, such as lindens, oaks, pear trees, bird cherries, maples, elms, and hornbeams. The area, planted with a variety of local species, has a good chance of turning into a biodiverse forest, where other plants and animals will begin to appear over time, creating a rich ecosystem that is more resistant to climate change than a single-species pine forest.
For someone who has just gotten up from their desk, there is something extraordinary about the satisfaction and joy that comes from spending a few hours in the field with a group of other enthusiasts. It is a pleasant feeling when a gentle breeze blows your worries away, the earth yields under the pressure of the spade, and then, bent over, with your hands and nose covered in dirt, arranging the small roots in the hole so that they can freely draw water from the ground, covering them with a layer of humus made from the remains of the cut forest, filling the hole with soil, patting it down and marking it with a circle of sticks, and then repeating these steps again and again.
Why is this the case? We have known for a long time that contact with nature has a beneficial effect on our physical and mental health. Aerobic exercise associated with gardening improves fitness and strength, sunlight lowers blood pressure and increases vitamin D levels, and contact with soil bacteria affects serotonin secretion in the brain and feelings of happiness. Recent studies show that daily contact with nature has a long-lasting and profound effect on health, including symptoms of depression and anxiety, diabetes and obesity, cardiovascular and heart disease, and longevity (1). It is increasingly recognized that regular contact with nature can promote human health and be used as a form of preventive medicine.
The second important aspect of well-being associated with planting a forest together is contact with other people. The longest-running social study in history – The Harvard Study of Adult Development (already 86 years old!) – has shown that supportive relationships with other people have the greatest impact on a good, healthy, and long life (2). Interestingly, as the participants aged, they attached less and less importance to their possessions and more and more to their life experiences. Men most often regretted spending too much time at work, while women regretted caring too much about the opinions of others.
Loneliness, which has had a particularly severe impact on many communities during the coronavirus pandemic, is becoming one of the greatest threats to mental health worldwide. As part of therapeutic programs, patients are encouraged to engage in activities where they can pursue their passions and dreams together with other people. Striving toward a common goal helps rebuild interpersonal relationships and has a positive impact on health and longevity.
Planting a forest together seems like the perfect way to do this, doesn't it?
You can get involved in the activities of the Las na Zawsze Foundation individually, with a group of friends, or with a company team. You don't need a lot of money to do this, just a desire to work together and a willingness to devote a few hours of your time. We don't need to convince you of the benefits; you can find all the details at on the Foundation's website:
I invite you to read a short interview with Ania Derda from the Las na Zawsze Foundation and see you at the next planting!
JB: Ania, as the Las na Zawsze Foundation, you have been planting biodiverse forests since 2019. At MATERIALITY, we are delighted to have been able to accompany you in this process almost from the very beginning. However, I remember that in the first year, you did the physical planting of the forests yourselves. Now you invite individuals and companies that have financially supported the restoration of the Forest to join in the planting. What was the reason behind this decision?
AD: We have always said, and continue to say, that planting a forest is a team sport. It is also a unique and beautiful day when we do something together not only for ourselves, but also for future generations. We would like to share this experience with everyone who works with us. We want our partners to experience with us the extraordinary feeling that the forest we have recreated will also serve those who come after us. Planting a tree is a subtle and intimate way of establishing a relationship with nature and the world, because every tree or bush planted is associated with a personal intention that has a chance to „grow” along with them.
JB: Do you notice that being together while planting a forest has a significant impact on the participants of such an event?
AD: I will tell you that I devote some of my thoughts to this. We have been observing this process of being together during planting for a long time. What surprises us is that the same biodiversity that we value so much in nature is reflected in ourselves. And just as a multi-species, diverse forest is resistant to harsh conditions and can survive for centuries, so too, in this collection of different characters and temperaments, by being together we are able to achieve something greater than ourselves.
In this rather pessimistic world and time, when we are bombarded with overwhelming news, the opportunity to meet for a few hours, do something good together, something we can leave behind for others, gives us the hope we so desperately need right now.
We want joint planting to become a tradition for people who have tried it at least once. Living in cities, we lose our natural connection with nature, our understanding of it, and the feeling that we are part of it. We hope that these few hours in the forest will allow us to regain the inner conviction that nature is also ours, that we must love and care for it.
JB: What you say is very close to my heart. When we went with you for the first time to plant a forest, we were in a wonderful state of elation, we absolutely fell in love with it. It's amazing how many trees one person can plant in an hour! The plot we are planting today is half a hectare, and there are about 40 of us working here, who have planted about 800 seedlings in 4-5 hours. This is very effective work!
AD: The state you are referring to, this euphoric joy, is also influenced by simple chemistry. When working with soil, we first oxygenate ourselves, and secondly, we ingest soil bacteria. Mycobacterium vaccae, which is often colloquially referred to as the happiness bacterium because it increases serotonin levels in the brain, just like going to the gym or eating a piece of chocolate. I think that the overwhelming feeling of happiness when planting trees is the result of a little bit of everything: meeting different people, exercise, oxygenation, inhaling happiness bacteria, and above all, working towards a common goal that gives hope for the future. Oh, look, all the trees are planted, we're done for today!
Anna Derda from the Las na Zawsze Foundation was interviewed by Justyna Biernacka from MATERIALITY.
[1] Soga M, Gaston KJ, Yamaura Y. Gardening is beneficial for health: A meta-analysis. Prev Med Rep. 2016 Nov 14;5:92-99. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.11.007. PMID: 27981022; PMCID: PMC5153451.
[2] https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org
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