If you ask people why they moved to the place where they live they often answer “I fell in love with the area”. It begins as a tender romance with nature, the hills and rivers, the woods and meadows, the trees and the people. And it is OK to fall in love with nature; we don’t have to be embarrassed about that. On the contrary, developing a relationship with nature is a healing basis for people and communities to manage their affairs in a truly ecological way.
Moreover, a growing number of people now realize that something has to change in the way humankind has been exploiting the planet for centuries. Greed has become the norm. It is time to change our attitudes. Misuse of the earth creates a wasteland. Lifting the earth’s vibrations is up to each one of us.
By re-introducing the ancient and global tradition of sacred groves Friends of the Trees hopes to contribute to the change that human beings need to make in order to navigate this global ecological crisis.

In the ancient cultures of Classical Greece, Rome and Egypt, as well as the woodland tribes of the Celts or Anglo-Saxons there were trees of a sacred status that were protected from any harm and were respected by people who had a deeper understanding of nature. These were places of celebration and joy, not feared. Sometimes gifts or offerings (flowers, fruits, candles, ribbons tied to the branches) were left there to express gratitude to the Source of all Life. These were natural temples, places with a powerful and peaceful atmosphere . One doesn’t have to be religious to sense this.We would experience it as a special place. Such places still exist in India and Japan today.
A sacred grove is a special place but without the architecture of a cathedral or temple. And without this historical and cultural context it is equally welcoming to a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Moslem, a Christian or a Jew. All of these religions have sacred trees in their own traditions.

The Friends of the Trees hope to create special places of contemplation, peace, and mutual friendship in nature.
• peaceful and quiet places where you can feel at ease with yourself and your environment
• places that teach us something about true ecology and where we find our power to give back to nature, in our own special ways
• places as environmental care in action, which make it tangible and joyful!
• places where we can find inspiration, relaxation and healing. places that might awaken us to something more within ourselves.