Lorax Lore

'Rackham talks often about “storm effects”, and in particular about the ecological benefits of the 1987 hurricane, in its disordering of bland and uniform forestry lots. But I sense a metaphor here, too. A kind of storminess is what real woods and trees live with. They are not human pets or manservants. They are dynamic, autonomous, resilient, different. If there is little in the book about conservation policy, it is because this kind of respect for trees as living individuals is a necessary prelude to conservation. And if Rackham is a little dismissive of current enthusiasms for allowing wrecked farmland to evolve into wild “self-willed” woods, it is because he believes that intricate and irreplaceable systems of ancient woods are that bit more important.'