Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

Simard’s research on interspecies cooperation and mycorrhizal networks has inspired a new understanding of the forest in Western culture. She has devoted her career to combating the practices of the Forest Service’s policymakers and has inspired a new generation of researchers who uphold her concepts of cooperation, Mother Trees, and community.

Though Simard’s nontraditional ideas and gender initially met with skepticism in her research community, she continued to learn, present her findings, and speak publicly against harmful forestry practices. She is now a highly regarded scientist with over 80 publications in peer-reviewed journals, books, and conference presentations and papers. Her work has appeared in Nature and National Geographic. Simard continues to work on the Mother Tree project as well as TerreWeb, a graduate-student-focused initiative to train the next generation of scientists to better prepare for and understand global change science.

Simard has more recently shared her research with the general public using platforms such as TED. Her June 2016 TED Talk, “How Trees Talk to Each Other,” launched her public speaking career. She has since given talks to Google, the New York Botanical Gardens, and TEDx centered around her research and