Episode 237 — Tree Books! What to read, why it matters, and how it shapes practice
From The Forest School Podcast by Lewis Ames and Wem Southerden
January 11, 2026 · 56 min · Season 2 · Episode 237
About this episode
Lewis and Gemma discuss 13 tree books and their impact on woodland practice.
Summary From Westonbirt inspirations to field guides and plant-hunter epics, Lewis and Gemma pull 13 tree books and ask how reading changes woodland practice. Hear about ships with greenhouses, coppice cycles, charcoal burning, fungal networks, minimalist nursery design, mapping with old OS layers and LiDAR, plus a practitioner’s starter stack for ID and ethnobotany. Sponsors TENTSILE Save 10% on tree tents and hammocks with code ForestChildren10 at checkout. Ideal for leaders who want flexible base-camp shelter without ground impact. Chris Holland Explore Chris’s 54-page Plant of the Week guide with songs, stories and QR videos. Use our affiliate link: https://chrisholland.myshopify.com/?ref=ForestSchoolPodcast Key takeaways Books are tools. Ideas on the page translate into better planning, richer invitations to play and clearer woodland decisions. History explains today’s woods. War, trade and enclosure shaped plantations and access. When the landscape is the resource you can need fewer add-ons. Mycorrhizal science challenges the clean slate approach to plantations. Diversity can feed young trees. A balanced shelf helps practitioners. Mix narrative inspiration, technical ID…
People in this episode
Hosts: Lewis Ames, Wem Southerden
Guest: Gemma
Topics covered
- tree books
- woodland practice
- plant-hunter epics
- coppice cycles
- mycorrhizal science
Keywords
- tree books
- woodland practice
- plant identification
- ethnobotany
- coppice cycles
Sponsors
TENTSILE, Chris Holland
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