Vennskap News: Only God Can Make....

It must be Spring!

Now that the sun is warming up the ground, trees will soon be full of buds and blossoms. Maples will be seen with pails hanging as the sap is collected and turned into maple syrup and sugar. All those bare-looking trees will soon be fully functional once again. Fully-loaded logging trucks will again be seen on the highways.

Charcoal ovens used in 1876

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Nowadays, steel and concrete are the predominant materials used to construct tall buildings and long-span bridges, but wood is still used as a major material in houses, smaller buildings, for decorative purposes and furniture. It is also a raw material for pulp-based products such as paper. Although wood is, in many cases, replaced by stronger and lighter materials, it is still in great demand. Earlier day pioneers used trees for their cabins and wood was essential for winter survival.Later the iron industry began in forested areas since trees were necessary to create charcoal, the fuel used in ovens for steel smelting. This created a large demand for cut trees. At this time, the loss of trees has created environmental problems.

Wood is currently being used in high demand for furniture.

Ikea, which made global profits of £2.7billion last year, is believed to use around one per cent of the world's wood supply.
Scandinavian giant Ikea has had a forestry stewardship certificate suspended after it was revealed the furniture chain has been cutting 600-year-old trees from protected woodlands.
The Forest Stewardship Council, which promotes the responsible management of the world's woodlands, says the wood Ikea cuts from forests in Karelia, Russia isn't being harvested sustainably.
"Swedwood", the Swedish firm's forestry subsidiary, has been refused certification by the international not for-profit organisation for its Karelia operation until action is taken.

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Is Ikea cutting down 600-year-old trees to use for furniture?
A majority of these forest-cutting rules have already been corrected as an Ikea spokesperson has stated:
'We take our responsibility for the forests and the people who work there very seriously and we appreciate that correcting the deviations will improve the way we manage the forest in Karelia".

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Trees have been in the news since the beginning of time. Adam and Eve were warned not to have anything to do with a tree. When they didn’t listen, they got into a lot of trouble

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Scandinavian history includes a very special tree. In Sweden. it’s called a Värdträd, and in Norway a Tuntre: a sacred tree planted in the center of the yard on a family farm. The caring for the tree demonstrates respect for ancestors. Spirits are believed to reside in the tree and is a moral reminder of caring for the farm or place where one lives. Older Norwegians believed that the tuntre provided a direct connection with the nature spirits that lived underground at his farm. This tree would protect the family and create happiness and success. A damaged tree could result in illness and misfortune for those who lived on the farm. The tree was also a protection in storms. The lightning would rather choose the high tree than the low-lying house.

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This tradition of sacred trees in Scandinavia goes back to the pre-Christian Viking Age. However, younger Scandinavians are no longer aware of this tradition and in another generation, many of these beliefs and the trees themselves may disappear.

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Yggdrasil is The Scandinavian World Tree

Yggdrasil (EEG-draw-sill)

According to Norse myths, the end of Asgard, the world of the gods and home to Odin and Thor, is brought about by the death of Yggdrasil, the great ash tree of life and wisdom. From this tree, Odin hung upside down for nine days and losing the sight of one of his eyes in exchange for the wisdom of the runes, and intuition of the goddesses.

The myth goes on:

Icelandic historian, poet, and politician Snorri Sturluson, who wrote the prose "Edda": around the year 1200, wrote about this mystical tree.This was his story:

“In the middle of Asgard where the gods lives, is Yggdrasil, the tree of life. This eternal green ash tree has branches stretching out over all of the nine worlds extending up and above the heavens.
At the very top of Yggdrasil, there lives an eagle and down by the roots of the tree lives a dragon named Nidhug. The eagle and the dragon are bitter enemies and they truly despise each other. A squirrel named Ratatosk is spending a lot of time each day, running up and down the tree. Ratatosk does whatever he can to keep the hatred between the eagle and Nidhug alive.”

(Squirrels never change!)

The Scandinavian mountainous terrain is often surrounded by deep valleys and it is only in these valleys that any trees are found. From these main valley systems, there are numerous side valleys. These side valleys are virtually the only area for forests that have provided building materials and fuel for centuries. Around 600m altitude, these forests give way to the mountain birch
woods which grow up to 800m. Scandinavian forests do not contain a wealth of species. The reason for this is the northerly location, plus the fact that after the glacial period, the sea forced most of the species to cease reproduction in Scandinavia, except for Denmark.

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Here, in the USA, we are accustomed to large forests, however much of the virgin trees have been removed. Only in selected areas has “tree-history” been so important that “Old Trees” are now protected.
How old is “old”?

Our famous “Redwoods”grow in a very narrow strip along the coast of California from the extreme southwestern corner of Oregon to 150 miles south of San Francisco in the Soda Springs drainage of Big Sur. Redwoods do not grow naturally beyond this belt. A redwood is a rapidly growing tree, and some individual trees have been measured at more than 360 feet in height, making it the tallest measured tree species on the earth. Exceptional individuals sometimes reach a height of 350 feet, and an age of approximately 2000 years.
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The famous Sequoia Washington

In California’s Sequoia Camp-Kings Canyon National Park, visitors can view the Sequoias, a genus of the redwood coniferous tree. One of these huge, old and protected trees is one called Washington...
a popular tourist attraction. Research of 2002 has shown that its age is about 2,850 (+/- 300) years. Another Sequoia named Methuselah has been dated to be 4,845 yrs-old!

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However, these trees are youngsters compared to a Swedish tree. The world's oldest recorded tree is a 9,550 year-old spruce in the Dalarna province of Sweden. Spruce trees have proved to be a tenacious survivor that has endured by growing between other trees and smaller bushes, keeping pace with the dramatic climate changes over time.

A 9,550 year-old spruce in the Dalarna province of Sweden

The visible portion of this 13-foot-tall tree isn't ancient, but its root system has been growing for 9,550 years, according to a team led by Leif Kullman, professor at Umeå University's department of ecology and environmental science in Sweden. The spruce's stems or trunks have a lifespan of around 600 years, "but as soon as a stem dies, a new one emerges from the same root stock," Kullman explained. "So the tree has a very long life expectancy." Trees much older than 9,550 years would be impossible in Sweden, because ice sheets covered the country until the end of the last Ice Age around 11,000 years ago, Kullman noted.

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While the demand for wood continues in our present time, we should feel fortunate for reforestration practises. However, our industrial pollution and climactic changes will more than likely add further stress to our atmosphere. We have marvelled at photos of the historic " trees of our pioneer days." Their future?..