This Old Tree
Old trees are awe inspiring links to the past that fire our imagination. What are their stories? Seasoned arborist and amateur historian Doug Still interviews local experts, historians, and regular folks to celebrate the myths and uncover the real tales. If you're a tree lover, join in to look "beyond the plaque" at heritage trees and the human stories behind them. Monthly.
This Old Tree
Sa Melabrina and Sardinia's Monumental Trees
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Sa Melabrina is a Downy Oak tree the size of a small church, draped in moss and ferns. Her ancient arms spread wide in the surrounding forest near Illorai, Sardinia. She's the oldest and largest of her kind in all of Europe. And she's been standing here in these mountains for nine centuries.
What she symbolizes is even greater than her beauty.
The town’s mayor organized a remarkable conference drawing scientists, conservationists, and community leaders from across Sardinia and beyond, all united around a single idea: that Sardinia's ancient trees, its oldest living landmarks, could form a network worth protecting, visiting, and fighting for.
There is something else at stake. Sardinia's small towns are quietly shrinking. Depopulation is hollowing out villages that have survived for millennia. Saving these old trees is vital, but Sardinia's leaders ask a new type of question:
Can Sa Melabrina and Sardinia’s monumental trees save its small towns?
Guests
Gianluca Grande, Mayor
Illorai, Sardinia
Dr. Gianluigi Bacchetta
Professor, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences
Director, Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity and Germplasm Bank of Sardinia
University of Cagliari, Sardinia
Pina Muras
Resident of Illorai, Sardinia
Carlo Poddi
Arborist, Sassari, Sardinia
Readings
"Su Cherchu Pius Bellu" (The Most Beautiful Oak) by Ignazio Camarda - read by Fulgenzio Piras
"The Sa Melabrina Oak" by Graziano Nudda
Quote by T.S. Eliot from "The Little Gidding"
Voiceover Readers
Manuela Buonanno (Pina Muras)
Jeff Taliaferro (Graziano Nudda reading)
Music
Sa Melabrina Choir
Conference hospitality provided by Proloco
Oak Species of Sardinia - Quercus pubescens group
Quercus dalechampii (Downy Oak)
Quercus ichnusae
Quercus congesta
Quercus virgiliana
Other Oak species in Sardinia
Quercus ilex (Holm Oak)
Quercus suber (Cork Oak)
Quercus calliprinos
Quercus morisi
Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com
Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home
Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.
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This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.
We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
doug@thisoldtree.net
This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org
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