Learn to Draw: Mother Tree
Join scientific illustrator Julius Csotonyi and special guest Finding the Mother Tree author and UBC professor Suzanne Simard in this free webinar where you’ll learn how to draw Mother Trees — the largest trees in the forest who act as a central communication and nutrient hub for their tree neighbours! You’ll also hear from Sierra Club BC’s cultural voice kQwa’st’not~Charlene George and Environmental Educator Ascher Goodman for ways you can help protect our forest neighbours.
Scroll down to watch the art lesson and to explore some great resources from the webinar!
Explore the Mother Tree artwork from the lesson!
Scroll through the gallery to see some stunning Mother Trees! If you’d like to have your drawing featured, send your artwork to social@sierraclub.bc.ca
Check out these resources from the webinar!
- Check out our new portal for ideas of how you can use your talents in the old-growth movement! You can join our network of action takers at InviteToAction.ca
- Buy Suzanne’s book Finding the Mother Tree.
- Learn more about Mother Trees! Watch the webinar “Finding The Mother Tree – A Conversation with Suzanne Simard.”
- Find more activities to help connect the kids in your life to nature in our library of educational resources.
- Donate to support our “Learn to Draw” series. Even a gift of $10 can make a big difference to our work!
Help protect Mother Trees and the web of life held in old-growth forests!
- 1) CALL or EMAIL THE PREMIER:
Call Premier John Horgan as many times as you can at 250-387-1715, leave him a voicemail, and send him an email premier@gov.bc.ca. Tell him you want him to make good on his “worth more standing” Old Growth Strategy pledges. You can also call Forest Minister Katrine Conroy at 1-250-387-6240 or email her at FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca. We also have an editable letter writing tool that you can use for talking points.
- 2) CALL TEAL JONES:
To help protect Fairy Creek/Ada’itsx, call Teal Jones who is set to log old-growth forest in the Caycuse watershed. Their number is 604-587-8700 or you can email these three folks: Len van Ryswyk: lvanryswyk@tealjones.com // Kiel Miller: kmiller@tealjones.com // Jim Hergert: jhergert@tealjones.com
- 3) PROTECT THE SCREECH OWL:
To help protect Fairy Creek/Ada’itsx, contact the local Enforcement Officer where you can report a violation of the Species At Risk Act under section 58 in regards to destroying threatened screech owl habitat: Jarrett Brochez / 250-756-7248 / jarrett.brochez@canada.ca
- 4) LEAVE TEAL JONES A GOOGLE REVIEW:
Using this link, you can quickly and easily leave Teal Jones a Google Review sharing your thoughts.
About the Julius Csotonyi
Dr. Julius Csotonyi is a Vancouver-based scientific illustrator and natural history fine artist. He has a scientific background in ecology (MSc) and microbiology (PhD) which has taken him to study sensitive ecosystems, from sand dunes in the Rocky Mountain parks to hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
These experiences have fuelled a strong resolve to work toward preserving the earth’s biota. Painting biological subjects is one means that he uses to both enhance public awareness of biological diversity and to motivate concern for its welfare.
He paints murals and panels that have appeared in numerous museums (e.g. the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History), press release images for scientific publications, books, stamp sets (e.g. the 2018 “Sharks of Canada” set for Canada Post), and coins for the Royal Canadian Mint. His work is viewable on his online gallery, http://csotonyi.com
About Suzanne Simard
TED Speaker and UBC Professor Suzanne Simard has earned a reputation for pioneering research on tree connectivity and communication. Her research brilliantly illuminates that forests are social, cooperative creatures with communal lives not that different from our own.
Dr. Simmard is a Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia, where she currently leads The Mother Tree Project and co-directs the Belowground Ecosystem Group. Her work has been published widely, with over 170 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Ecology, and Global Biology, and she has co-authored the book Climate Change and Variability. Her research has been communicated broadly through three TED Talks, TED Experiences, as well as articles and interviews in The New Yorker, National Geographic, The Globe and Mail, NPR, CNN, CBC, and many more. She lives with her two adventurous daughters and their wild and crazy extended family in the mountains around Nelson, British Columbia. You can purchase her recently released book, Finding the Mother Tree, here.
Artwork by Julius Csotonyi
TJ Watt