Trees and Man

By R. P. Fodchuk, B.Sc (Agr.), BL.A., ML.A., Chief Landscape Architect, National Capital Commission

Trees are very much a vital part of the life of our city. They are man's sensual and spiritual contact with nature. Trees fulfill the hidden needs of man's primitive psyche, a need to relate with his primeval environment. This aspect of the refurbishment of man's spiritual and internal well being from natural forces, especially focusing on the tree becomes evident from an examination of the history of man.

A study of mythology tells us that ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome had set aside treed sanctuaries which were ruled over by Kings of the Wood. Such was ,the sanctuary of the goddess Diana of Nemi, a fitting home for the "Mistress of Mountains, and forests green, and lonely glades, and sounding rivers." Antiquity shows that the legend concerning the worship of Diana in her sacred Grove was of great importance to her people. She was revered as "the Goddess of Woodlands and of Wild Creatures", probably also of domestic cattle and the fruits of the earth". This was immortalized by Virgil in the legend of the Golden Bough and much more recently, so well documented by Sir lames George Fraser in his ten volume series on mythology, also called "The Golden Bough".

Plato, Pliny and other philosophers of antiquity recognized the desirability of a harmonious relationship between man and his natural environment.

If one studies the religious history of the early northern European peoples, one finds that the worship of trees has played an important part in the establishment of wooded sanctuaries. Nothing could be more natural since most of Europe was covered by primeval forests. The Druids worshipped oaks. Their old word for sanctuary seems to be identical in origin and meaning with the Latin Nemus, a grove or woodland glade, which survives in the name of Nemi.

The Finish-Ugrian peoples of Siberia had sacred groves in which nothing might be touched. The Slavs, Swedes and Lithuanians worshipped groves of trees and paid special homage to select specimens. Spring fertility rites such as the May Day ceremony are still performed in modern Europe. Religious ceremonial included the sacrificial offerings of human life. Persons causing damage to any trees were severely punished. If the bark of a tree were removed, the damage was repaired with the skin of the offender. The life of a tree was on par with that of man.

Some of these early sacred groves are maintained even to this day. Within the Alban hills in full view of Rome the lake of Nemi lies deep within a luxuriant forest, the original grove of the Goddess Diana. Here, Julius Caesar had once built himself a costly villa and invited many emperors to indulge in the beauties of the virgin like setting. We see where these groves have fulfilled the spiritual needs of people from the early barbarian to the pagan, and more recently, Christian times. Now the area serves as a Christian sanctuary for the celebrations of the festival of the Virgin Mary by the Roman Church.

Throughout history, man has shown a reverence to and almost an "I-thou" relationship with trees. In Persia, India and Ancient Egypt, trees were used in formal plantings to define spaces and processional avenues. In China and Japan trees in gardens and public spaces were used in free-form groupings to simulate the groves of the natural woodland.

Baron Haussman under the dictatorial rule of Louis the fourteenth the Sun King of France, used trees in profusion throughout the streets of Paris with a powerful strength that to this day has not been repeated. Trees were planted to line great processional boulevards, were pleached and pollarded to define spaces and to form strong architectural elements within the total urban fabric.

If we were to examine our own city, we find that trees play a very vital role in the make-up of Ottawa's urban fabric. For the purposes of this discussion, this role may be broken down into two major areas. Firstly, throughout our National Capital, trees in natural groves within our open spaces, in our streets or those planted Within out residential neighbourhoods provide a background of relaxing softness and yielding contrast against the grey harshness of the architectural masonry. Trees are the powerful unifying element that provide the harmonious organic linkage and human scale to our city spaces. Secondly, trees are the basic structural element of our major skeletal pattern or system of open spaces. This is very evident in our driveways, such as that from Uplands to our City center which follows the winding Rideau, flowing smoothly and easily through a deep belt of mature elms, maples, oaks and willows and curves at the Centennial Arts Center. This profusion of tall and regal hardwoods is the backbone of our plantings along the parkways, the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River providing a strong structuring to our city fabric. Behind these structural elements lies the mosaic of our urban fabric. Interspersed throughout the residential areas is a heterogeneous forest of trees, each participating within this mosaic and together, forming a viable living matrix, and thereby improving the environment of our Nation's Capital.

In spite of the difficulties trees face in a city environment, trees can be successfully planted and nurtured to grow to a ripe old age under the most distressing urban conditions. With the proper care and understanding of their needs, we can make a success of growing trees under these conditions. Even after a good start, urban trees can triumph only if they get tender loving care, consistently. Trees need to get sunshine, be watered, fed, sprayed and extravagantly admired.

Let planting a tree or a number of trees be your centennial project for this year.

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