Cover of “Take to the Trees”

Trees, Trust and Transformation

Journalist Marguerite Holloway attended a Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop with little climbing experience, but with a strong curiosity about trees. The program, led by twin sister arborists Bear LeVangie and Melissa LeVangie Ingersoll, brought together a wide range of participants, from enthusiasts to working professionals, who offered both technical training and a rare opportunity to experience the canopy firsthand.

Holloway’s first climb was very similar to my own: terrifying, frustrating and humbling. Her book, “Take to the Trees: A Story of Hope, Science, and Self-Discovery in America’s Imperiled Forests,” speaks to anyone who has felt inadequate while learning something new. As she tackles unfamiliar equipment and dizzying heights, she weaves together personal accounts of climbing with science-backed histories of trees and the threats they face. She brings readers into the lives of species including hemlock, aspen, Atlantic white cedar, oak and beech, while also highlighting the experts documenting widespread forest decline driven by drought, heat, floods, disease and other accelerating pressures.

Learning through climbing

My biggest takeaway from the book is that climbing is one of the best ways to care for and better understand trees in our natural world. Holloway’s writing feels personal, almost like a diary, grounded in her own connection to trees. At the same time, her background at The New York Times comes through in her ability to clearly present research on pests, fungi and climate-
related challenges without ever sounding dry or overly technical.
Learning how to climb only launched her further into tree advocacy. “This ability to scale, to move nimbly up and down across time or space, to see from different vantage points, to see tree and forest both, to see individual and community both, to recognize different ways of knowing, is essential to facing the climate crisis,” writes Holloway. “We need to change our view and not fear radical transformation – not stand frozen at the edge of a precipice we will fall off if we don’t step back.”

Science and threats

Throughout the book, Holloway speaks with scientists and takes deep dives into issues like emerald ash borer, woolly adelgid, southern pine beetle, phytophthora and beech leaf disease. She explains what each threat means for specific species and for the future of our landscapes, while also pointing to ongoing research and efforts that offer hope.

As Reiko Matsuda Goodwin, a biological anthropologist at Fordham University and fellow workshop participant, notes, “Climbing offers a different way to look at the world. It opens up a different perspective to look. But not only looking outside, looking inside too. To think about what’s good for you, what’s good for the world.”

Author Marguerite Holloway

People and perspective

Some of my favorite sections highlight the women connected to the workshop, including Bear LeVangie and Melissa LeVangie Ingersoll, who have helped redefine what it means to be a tree care professional. (I’ve personally trained with Bear at an aerial-rescue symposium, and the rumors are true – she is amazing!) Holloway captures both the technical growth and the vulnerability of the experience, sharing stories of women navigating and pushing past biases in the field and in daily life.

It made me giddy to read about the gift of resilience that trees bring out in us. Holloway beautifully describes what it’s like to learn to climb – when someone pushes just beyond their comfort zone and comes out the other side with a new sense of confidence and respect for trees. Nothing makes you feel more proud or protective of a tree than setting a line, climbing up and maneuvering around the canopy.

The book also helps to remind us how much we share with trees. They require water, rest, sunlight and connection. Notice any similarities? We coexist and have many of the same needs. Holloway strikes a thoughtful balance, avoiding mysticism while still recognizing trees as living systems that deserve care and attention.

Conclusion

This book spoke to me personally, putting words to feelings and experiences that I, too, have had in the tree care industry. It’s also a powerful reminder that arboriculture – and climbing in particular – should be accessible to everyone. Women have a place in this industry, and although that space may be small now, it is growing.

Lydia Mooney is an ISA Certified Arborist for the Department of Public Works (Urban Forestry) in Falls Church, Virginia.