#When Trees Testify

In WHEN TREES TESTIFY, award-winning plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores the ways seven trees—as well as the cotton shrub—are intertwined with Black history and culture. ⁣ ⁣ Combining the wisdom of science and history with stories from her own path to botany, Montgomery talks to majestic trees, and in this unique and compelling narrative, they answer.⁣ ⁣⁣ Read by Melinda Sewak, #WhenTreesTestify is available 1/20/26 wherever you listen to audiobooks.

The histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. In WHEN TREES TESTIFY, award-winning plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores the ways seven trees—as well as the cotton shrub—are intertwined with Black history and culture. ⁣ ⁣ A stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery, #WhenTreesTestify read by Melinda Sewak is available wherever you listen to audiobooks.⁣ ⁣ #BlackHistoryMonth #BHM2026

The trees will testify…oil on panel

WHEN TREES TESTIFY by Beronda L. Montgomery is a stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery, offering up lessons from the natural world shared through the stories of long-lived trees.⁣ ⁣ Read by Melinda Sewak, #WhenTreesTestify is available 1/20/26 wherever you listen to audiobooks.

Beautiful video with tree 🍂save it📥

Happy Women’s History Month from the women who care for Oakland Cemetery 🌳🪦 Our Director of Horticulture, Abra Lee, was recently inspired by Dr. Beronda Montgomery’s book “When Trees Testify.” She shares: “Dr. Montgomery challenges us to think deeply about the wisdom instilled in us through our trees—especially our witness trees—and the many women who have carried botanical knowledge through generations. While she refers to enslaved people and their descendants, I’d like to share this quote, which also makes me reflect on the centuries of knowledge passed down to me by women, especially my Mama Vivian Lee. ‘The fact that we do not remember or cannot name these individuals does not erase or devalue the contributions that they have made to our country’s past, current, and future success.’ Thank you, Dr. Montgomery—and thank you to all the women, named and unnamed, whose care and knowledge continue to shape places like Historic Oakland Cemetery.” 💚 #womenshistorymonth

How Trees Secretly Talk 🌳🤔

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein concludes with one of the most poignant lines in children's literature: "And the tree was happy." This simple sentence encapsulates a lifetime of selfless love and the bittersweet nature of total sacrifice.

The tension of the trees is like another kind of sea. I often wonder who likes this kind of atmosphere. #naturesms

This tree reacts to human touch more than most people do I know that might sound out there, but just watch what happens…. Using a pendulum, Im tuningg into the tree’s natural resonance, similar to how you’d tune a guitar string to a specific length. As I get close, you can already see a response. But what’s interesting is what happens when I actually make contact, especially with a calm, intentional presence. The movement increases. Then when I step away, it slows back down. Is that proof of anything? Not necessarily. But it does make you wonder… How disconnected have we become from the natural world that we don’t even consider this as a possibility? At the very least, it’s a reminder: Go outside Touch something real You might feel more than you expect. If you’ve been feeling off, disconnected, or low energy, there’s usually more going on in your environment than you think. DM me FREQUENCY and I’ll walk you through it. #treehuggers #nature #resonator

Let us remember the teachings of trees 🌲 With every passing year, trees living in temperate regions develop a light ring in spring and summer followed by a dark ring in fall and winter. Together, a light and dark ring form a year in a tree’s life. They grow older as new rings form, simultaneously ancient and ever new. The same is reflected in our perception—some days can feel like years, dragging on and seemingly never-ending, while others feel as if they pass us by in the blink of an eye. Both, however, are marked by the light and the dark, and how we choose to view and respond to either. 
 As our own rings form, they contain every season of our lives and every version of ourselves—a reminder that neither growth nor time are linear. Even what seems like going in circles is still part of our expansion.
 Head to atmos.earth/overview to explore more archive editions of The Overview while it's on hiatus this month.

LOVE the @ArborDayFoundation! They are planting a MILLION TREES in neighborhoods across america as part of their MILLION TREE PROJECT. PLUS they are collecting TONS of tree stories! Post your tree story and tag them! Everyone has a beautiful tree story to share - maybe a tree from your childhood? This is my tree-love story! Follow the link in my bio to share your story and ensure a tree gets planted on your behalf!