This Old Tree: Stories About Historic Trees

Urban Forester and Penn State Alum Doug Still has created a unique podcast titled This Old Tree, where he interviews local experts and historians about trees that have bared witness to many events and touched history. His storytelling, interwoven with the people he interviews, makes for an interesting and thoughtful dive into how trees once just part of the landscape rise to become important witnesses to and symbols or reminders of the events of society.

In one episode, Doug discusses the American Elm in Concord, Massachusetts that inspired some of Henry David Thoreau’s early environmental writings with Cornell University professor, Thomas Campanella. In another episode, he visits the 9/11 Survivor Tree that survived the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and talks with New York City Parks Department staff that rescued the badly damaged Callery pear and six other trees.

Another episode visits a 350-year-old white oak in McMinnville, Tennessee that has become known as the Birthing Tree and is now a state landmark tree. This tree is so revered that when planning for Highway 70 the road was redirected to save the tree. Learn how pioneers stopped under the large canopy of this oak tree and how legend grew that your child would be healthy and prosperous if they were born under the large white oak. 

If you love trees and want to explore the stories behind heritage trees, This Old Tree is worth a listen.