“Once, it seemed that there were only two paths to follow: a status quo that saw forests and other ecosystems as commodities, and an opposing force that sought to protect ecosystems from ourselves,” Ethan Tapper writes in his book How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World.
On March 20, the Kenyon community welcomed Tapper, a forester and author. Alongside striking calls to action, Tapper’s book weaves together vivid stories of the 175-acre forest in Vermont — nicknamed “Bear Island” — that he maintains, and illustrates his journey toward realizing that a close relationship with the environment around us can lead to successful replenishment of many ecosystems.
When Tapper first visited what would soon be named Bear Island, he saw miles of dead, poisoned trees and swarms of invasive plant species. “The first time I went there, I thought it was a forest that had every problem a forest could have… [So it became] a symbol of what’s possible,” Tapper told the audience. Despite how hopeless this forest looked at first glance, Tapper only had to peer a little closer to discover its underlying beauty — soon, after a back and forth with a colleague about the seemingly incurable forest, Tapper decided to take a risk: taking ownership of the land at no cost. During the following months and years, Tapper used his extensive background in forestry to essentially revive Bear Island. For the next seven years, many of Tapper’s colleagues posited that the best way to take care of forests after damaging them to such a harrowing extent is to leave them alone. However, Tapper argued that that line of thinking is construed from a misunderstanding of the environment. “I started to realize that the tools that we have, when used in the right way, could actually have these profound, positive changes in the ecosystems, and help them heal from the wounds of the past and become more resilient,” Tapper explained.
Throughout his talk, Tapper emphasized his desire for How to Love a Forest to be read as a love story to that ecosystem. As he lived and breathed the resurrection of Bear Island, Tapper explained that the book was written from 5 to 6 a.m. every morning. Every day, Tapper taught himself how to write in a poetic way that captures his strive towards action and saviorship of the environment around him. In How to Love a Forest, Tapper attempts to transform common misconceptions about these crucial ecosystems. He then read out a section from his book in which he describes the complexity of Bear Island in particular. “As I’ve learned to recognize more of the forest’s birds, a cacophony has become a chorus,” Tapper read. “Each species of bird calls its own name, each touches the forest in a different way, each finding habitat within different pieces and parts of this living community — each is unique.”
Tapper’s work has helped change the perceptions of a “healthy-looking forest” that members of the public have, and clarified the importance of making forests more complex rather than simple and aesthetically pleasing. While Tapper has his challenges to distribute to the audience and to the larger forestry community, he also undoubtedly looks to a thriving future for Bear Island and other similar forests. As he closed his inspiring talk, Tapper read from the end of How to Love a Forest: “We can allow this biosphere, our home, to sink further into dysfunction and disarray, or we can make the radical, bittersweet decisions necessary to choose a different path.”