On Being Part Of A Collective……The Wheel Turns……..
by Bernie Bell - 09:28 on 30 May 2025
On Being Part Of A Collective……
I copied this from Matthew Manning’s Facebook page….
“STUDY SHOWS TREES SYNCHRONISE ELECTRICAL SIGNALS DURING A SOLAR ECLIPSE
In a remarkable discovery, scientists have found that trees may act as a “living collective”, synchronising their internal electrical signals in anticipation of a solar eclipse.
During the 2022 eclipse over Italy’s Dolomites, researchers recorded spruce trees aligning their bioelectrical activity hours before the event began.
This suggests trees don’t just passively experience environmental changes - they anticipate and respond to them as interconnected organisms. The older the tree, the stronger its anticipatory signals, pointing to a potential transmission of ecological awareness across the forest.
Using custom sensors on living trees and even old stumps, the scientists observed coordinated changes in voltage within cells, known as bioelectrical potentials. These signals, driven by ion flows across membranes, indicate trees might communicate and adapt collectively.
The findings lend strong support to the idea that forests are not merely clusters of individual plants, but interdependent systems where ancient trees play a key role in resilience and ecosystem intelligence. The study also adds weight to growing calls to preserve old-growth forests for their unseen but vital ecological wisdom.
(The study is published in the journal of the Royal Society Open Science.)
My comment was….
“Being part of a collective - strength in unity.”
The principle applies in many contexts….
https://theorkneynews.scot/2019/01/12/thoughts-on-being-an-independent-part-of-a-collective/
We could learn a lot from the trees….and other forms of life that co-inhabit this world.
***************************************************************************
The Wheel Turns…..
On Tuesday's ‘Springwatch’ ….
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002cty6
Iolo was at the Ulster Museum & Discover Nature Centre in Belfast….
…which overlooks Friar’s Bush Graveyard, watching and filming the wildlife there. He commented on how old the graveyard is, and mentioned something about it pre-dating Belfast itself. I was intrigued, and looked it up ….
https://ulsterhistoricalfoundation.com/portfolio/saving-friars-bush-graveyard
This website mentions a possible Neolithic mound there – so that area could possibly be the origin of what we now call Belfast.
https://remarkabletrees.org/trees-of-folklore/friars-bush-belfast/
I chose my heading for this piece because of the history of disease and sorrow associated with the graveyard. Graveyards are associated with sorrow, but mostly hold the remains of folk who lived out their lives and died in the natural course of things. This graveyard, to me, holds more than its fair share of lives and deaths marked by disease and despair.
And now – it’s full of LIFE of varied kinds – plants, mammals, birds and bugs.
It’s possible to visit Friar's Bush Graveyard. To arrange an appointment, contact Bereavement Services Office on 028 9027 0296 or email cemeteries@belfastcity.gov.uk.
Guided tours of Friar’s Bush graveyard are provided by Cairde na Cille. To find out more, go to Cairde na Cille .
******
And then…..
Yesterday evening on Springwatch Chris Packham was at it again with an Oasis vibe - this time we picked up on....
Wonderwall, Don't Look Back In Anger, Cast No Shadow,
The Importance Of Being Idle, Let There Be Love, and Slide Away.
What's occurin'?
Add your comment
