This Old Tree

Meet Kabirvad, a 500 yr-old, 4 acre banyan tree in the heart of Gujarat, India. The spectacular tree is a national treasure associated with Saint Kabir, a 15th century mystic poet known for his timeless poetry. He challenged institutions, religions and social convention. Who was he, and how is his legend tied to a banyan tree? Journey to India to learn about Kabirvad. In understanding the tree, you may find the essence of Kabir himself.

Guests
Prof. Srinivas Reddy
Guest Professor, Humanities
Indian Institute of Technology
Gandhinagar, India
Author, Illuminating Worlds: An Anthology of Classical Indian Literature
Sankalpana

Dr. Linda Hess
Professor Emerita, Stanford University
Linda-Hess.com
Bodies of Song: Kabir Oral Traditions and Performative Worlds in North India

Ronak Kevadiya
Range Forest Officer
Forest and Environment Office, Govt. of Gujarat
Bharuch, India

Dr. Vikrant Jain
Professor, Earth Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology
Gandhinagar, India

Short Kabir Interviews
Abhia Lakhia
Jayraj Bhatt
Anuja Bhatt
Dr. Sudhanshu Sharma
Kabeer Jesusa

Kabir Poems Reader
Gairik Sachdeva
Cambridge, MA
Lineages of Innovations (Substack)

Kabir poems translated and provided by Linda Hess

Music
Raga Ahiri, performed by Srinivas Reddy (sitar), Rajiv Bhatt (tabla) and Sameer Sahasrabuddhe (tabla)

Other References
Burn Down Your House: Provocations from Kabir, Shabnam Virmani
Gods, Wasps and Stranglers: The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig Trees, Michael Shanahan

Additional thanks to
Dr. Paula Richman and Dr. Michael Fisher for sharing their knowledge and resources on India.

Lisa Rodriguez at Osco Pharmacy, for providing all of the vaccinations I needed for my trip!

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram

This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

Did you know the British are mad about mulberries? A 415 yr-old black mulberry tree stands at Charlton House & Gardens, the oldest specimen in London and highly beloved.  Its story involves King James I and a courtier named Sir Adam Newton, the tutor to the King's eldest son Henry. It also involves a government decree gone awry.

Guests
Peter Coles
Author, Mulberry
Morus Londinium

Dr. Stella Butler
Trustee, Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust
Chair, Charlton & Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

Jason Sylvan
Head Gardener, Charlton House & Gardens

Kathy Aitken
Volunteer, Charlton & Blackheath Amateur Horticultural Society

Music performed by the Renaissonics
"Coockow As I Me Walked," John Baldwin
"The Satyrs' Masque," Robert Johnson (from Oberon)
"Full Fathom Five," Robert Johnson
"Strike It Up Tabor," Thomas Weelkes 

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram

This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

John Bartram was a Quaker farmer near Philadelphia in the mid 18th century. So how did he become North America's first great botanist? And how did he and his son William find themselves in the wilds of southeastern Georgia, fighting off rain, hunger and mosquitos, in order to find the rare and beautiful Franklin Tree (Franklinia alatamaha)? Come hear the story about why this tree at Bartram's Garden symbolizes the spirit of science and discovery.

Guest
Tom Reber
Director of Landscape and Facilities
Bartram's Garden
Philadelphia, PA

Readers
Nigel Holmes
Mike Savard
Mike Sweney
Josh Abrams

Harpsichord Music performed by Miyuke Tsurutani
"The Saint Catherine," John Barrett
"Saraband," John Barrett
"Hornpipe," Henry Purcell
"Ground," John Blow

References
"The Life and Travels of John Bartram: From Lake Ontario to the River St. John," by Edmund Berkeley and Dorothy Smith Berkeley. University Press of Florida, 1982.

"The Correspondence of John Bartram, 1734 - 1777," edited by Edmund Berkeley and Dorothy Smith Berkeley. University Press of Florida, 1992.

"Franklinia alatamaha, A History of That 'Very Curious' Shrub," by Joel Fry. Bartram's Broadside, Winter 2000. 

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram

This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

Legend has it that Col. William H. Jackson of Athens, Georgia loved his old white oak tree very much. So much, that he created a deed for the tree and the land immediately surrounding it, giving ownership unto itself.  Could it be possible? Who owns a tree?

The answers aren't always as simple as they may appear. 

Guests
Mateo Fennell
Community Forestry Coordinator
Athens-Clarke County Unified Government
Athens, GA
https://www.accgov.com/274/Community-Forestry

James Komen
Consulting Arborist and Attorney
Los Angeles, CA
https://www.jameskomen.com/

Pat McAlexander
Author, Retired Professor, and Neighbor of The Tree That Owns Itself
University of Georgia
Athens, GA

Music
"It's Fun Being a Cat," Ziv Grinberg

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram

This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

A large old mulberry tree at Truro Vineyards on Cape Cod comes with a legend. A sea captain brought it back from the South Pacific and planted it for his young wife. Or his girlfriend. Or someone named Amelia. Is this story true? Who was the captain, and what became of him?

Come along to open dusty books, unfurl old maps, and decide what you think.

Guests
Kristen Roberts
Owner
Truro Vineyards
Truro, MA

Ken MacPhee
Arborist Representative
Bartlett Tree Experts
Orleans, MA

Janice Pelosi
Manager
Truro Historical Society
Truro, MA

Norman Pope
Volunteer
Truro Historical Society
Truro, MA

Peter Coles
Author of Mulberry
Morus londinium 
London, UK

Consulting Editor
David Still II

Recorder Music
David Bor and Kimberly Wass
"The Wellerman"
"Sleep Soond I da Mornin'"
"Leave Her Johnny"

Other Music
The Hill Top Trio
"Spanish Ladies"

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram

This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

Here's the third edition of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, where guests get to tell their own tree stories! Charles Darwin, bride and groom trees, a massive American elm in Illinois, Al Capone, original tree-inspired music, a tree used for meetings at an army base, a moving story from war-torn Ukraine - this episode has it all. Listen to what people have to say about the trees that inspire them.

Guests
Rob McBride
The Tree Hunter
Ellesmere, Shropshire, U.K.
Instagram

Georgia Barnhill
Amherst Historical Society
Amherst, MA

Joe Hansen
The Municipal Arborist Podcast
Instagram

Grayson Bo Guthrie
Baltimore Tree Keeper
Baltimore, MD
Instagram

Kamala Sankaram
Composer and Singer
KamalaSankaram.com

Lawarren Patterson
Retired Army Major General
San Antonio, TX
Bio

Olena Kozak
Ukrainian Ecological Club - Green Wave
Kyiv, Ukraine

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram

This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

The Fabrykant Oak, translated as the "Factory Owner's Oak," received 45,000 votes to become Europe's Tree of the Year. Located in Łódź, it captures the hearts of people in its home country of Poland and around the world. Full of personality and stunningly  beautiful, the story of this Quercus robur strikes deep into the city's culture and history. How does an old tree overcome the past to become a symbol of rebirth and a brighter future?

Guests
Adam Golub
Project Manager and Brussels Representative
European Tree of the Year
Environmental Partnership Association
 treeoftheyear.org
Brussels, Belgium

Przemek Bartos
Ecologist and Blogger
Przyroda dla Sosnowca
The Oak Fabrykant - Video
Sosnowiec, Poland

Jacek Boźek
Director, Klub Gaja
Ecological and Cultural Association
klubgaja.pl
Wilkowice, Poland

Anna Wierzbicka
Director of Environmental Management Division
City of Łódź
Poland
Green Bond Framework

Maria Duszynska McCauley
Centerville, MA, USA

Consulting Editor
David Still II

Music
Frédéric Chopin - to be updated

Photo Credit
Jakub Kubka

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram

This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

A 300 yr-old Live Oak tree on the campus of Hampton University in Virginia stuns visitors with its strength and beauty. It’s also an enduring symbol of a watershed moment in American history - the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War, which freed enslaved people in the rebel states.

How could a tree play a role in that momentous event, at least locally? What did emancipation truly mean to African-Americans in 1863? How does the tree still inspire the hearts and imagination of people today?

Guests
Abra Lee
Garden Historian, Writer, Lecturer
conquerthesoil.com
Director of Horticulture, Oakland Cemetery
Atlanta, GA

Prof. Robert Watson
Assistant Professor of History
Hampton University
Hampton, VA

Tim Nuckols
Owner, Nuckols Tree Care
Virginia Beach, VA

Consulting Editor
Josh Abrams

Music
"Steal Away" - Wallace Willis
Arranged by Roland Carter
Sung by the Winston-Salem State University Choir

Photo Credit
Hampton University

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram

This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

A stunning copper beech tree in Ireland’s County Galway attracts tourists from around the world. Lady Gregory was its owner, and she drew legendary writers of her day to her house and garden at Coole Park - William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, and others. If they were lucky, they were allowed to etch their names into the bark of what’s now known as the Autograph Tree. Learn the full story steeped in Irish literary history.

Guests
Jenni McGuire
Head Guide, Coole Park Nature Reserve
Gort, County Galway, Ireland

Margaux Pierrel
Conservation Ranger, Coole Park Nature Reserve
Gort, County Galway, Ireland

Dr. James Pethica
Senior Lecturer in English and Theatre, Williams College
Williamstown, MA, USA

Dr. Anna Pilz
Independent Researcher
Academic Developer & Trainer, University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Scotland

Consulting Editor
David Still, II

Music
"Cailleach An Airgid" - traditional
Arranged by Katharina Baker
Performed by Sonic Strings from Coole Music & Arts in Gort, County Galway
Soloist - Lilian Owens
See Sonic Strings performing the piece on Inis Mór on YouTube here

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram

This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

This season 1 recap features thematic highlights from the first 18 episodes, Doug's favorite songs about trees, and an interview with Dee Lee, arborist and songwriter!

Featured Songs and Artists

Redwood Tree, Van Morrison  
Saint Dominick's Preview, 1972
Warner Bros, Inc.

English Trees, Crowded House
Time on Earth, 2007
Parlophone & ATO Records

Trees, Louis Armstrong & George Jenkins and His Orchestra
(Lyrics from Trees by Joyce Kilmer)
1954

Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell
Ladies of the Canyon, 1970
Reprise Records, Crazy Crow Music

King of Trees, Yusuf/Cat Stevens
Buddha and the Chocolate Box, 1974
A&M Records, Firecat Music Ld.

Boys in the Trees, Carly Simon
Boys in the Trees, 1978
Elektra Records; C'est Music; Universal Music Corp.

Mango Tree (Feat. Sara Bareilles), Zac Brown Band
Jekyll + Hyde, 2015
Writers: Zac Brown, Anna Elizabeth Harwood, and Niko Moon
Big Machine Records; Republic; Bettimusic

It’s the Roots, Dee Lee

This Old Tree, Dee Lee
DeeLeeTree.com

Consulting Editor
David Still II

Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram

This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
[email protected]

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org