Tree Speech

What does it mean to return to the earth?In this episode, Jonathan speaks with willow weaver Mary Lauren Fraser about her work crafting biodegradable caskets designed to decompose naturally. Their conversation explores the growing green burial movement, the environmental impact of traditional practices, and how reconnecting with natural cycles can reshape the way we think about death. This episode offers a thoughtful look at death as a process of return rather than preservation.Links:Mary Lauren Fraser: ⁠https://www.fraserbaskets.com/⁠Green Burial Council: https://www.greenburialcouncil.orgFunerary Artisans Collective: https://www.funeraryartisanscollective.comNational Home Funeral Alliance: https://www.homefuneralalliance.orgNEDA (End-of-Life Doulas): https://www.nedalliance.orgThis week’s episode was written and recorded in New York on the land of the Lenape tribes and in Massachusetts on the native lands of the ⁠Wabanaki Confederacy⁠, ⁠Pennacook⁠, ⁠Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett)⁠, and ⁠Pawtucket⁠ people.This episode was written, edited, and produced by Jonathan Zautner and Dori Robinson.To learn more about our podcast and episodes, please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠treespeechpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and consider supporting us through our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude to patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. 

In this season of Valentine's Day, we often focus on romantic love — but what if intimacy could extend beyond human-to-human relationships?In this episode of Tree Speech, we explore a radical and tender idea of connection through Arborlogues: A Botanical Recital Performed for One Tree.Created by lead artist Dan Daly and writer Lee LeBreton, Arborlogues invites participants into a red-curtained theater built around a chosen tree. Guided by a script, you become both performer and conversational partner with your arboreal audience. The result? A deeply personal encounter with presence, memory, ecology, and love.This episode also honors the work of Joanna Macy, whose environmental activism and work inspire the piece’s invitation to transform grief into belonging and active hope.The episode closes with a guided reflective exercise that invites listeners to write a love letter to a tree — an act of relational love rooted in gratitude, accountability, and care.This week’s episode was written and recorded in New York on the land of the Lenape tribes.This episode was written, edited, and produced by Jonathan Zautner with Dori Robinson.To learn more about our podcast and episodes, please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠treespeechpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and consider supporting us through our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude to patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word, and rate and review us on Apple podcasts. Every kind word helps. 

The winter solstice is a threshold — the longest night of the year, holding both stillness and promise. In this special 50th episode of Tree Speech, we linger in that in-between space where darkness is not something to fear, but a place of listening, wonder, and quiet presence.We begin in the solstice hush, where forests shimmer with unseen life and ancient stories gather close. From there, we travel to Iceland through myth, landscape, and lived experience, speaking with author Nancy Marie Brown about her book Looking for the Hidden Folk: How Iceland’s Elves Can Save the Earth. Together, we explore what it means to treat land as alive and attentive — and how belief in the hidden folk is less about superstition than about perception, reverence, and care.This is an episode about paying attention, honoring mystery, and remembering that even in darkness, the world is alive — and the light is already on its way back.Happy Solstice! May your candles burn bright, your windows glow with welcome, and the unseen feel close. This week’s episode was written and recorded in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes. This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the ⁠Wabanaki Confederacy⁠, ⁠Pennacook⁠, ⁠Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett)⁠, and ⁠Pawtucket⁠ peopleThis episode was written, edited, and produced by Jonathan Zautner and Dori Robinson.To learn more about our podcast and episodes, please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠treespeechpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and consider supporting us through our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - every contribution supports our production, and we’ll be giving gifts of gratitude to patrons of all levels. Please also consider passing the word, and rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. Every kind word helps. 

In this episode, our guest Elspeth Hay, author of Feed Us with Trees, creator of The Local Food Report, and passionate proponent of place-based living, takes us on a fascinating exploration of acorns as a superfood with profound historical roots.Our conversation also delves into the wisdom of wooded ecosystems and the vital concept of viewing these landscapes as food-producing allies. These insights invite us to imagine a future where humans and nature thrive together, fostering a reciprocal relationship with our environment that respects historical realities while embracing the beauty of nature’s bounty.This interview and Elspeth's book are a call to reconnect with the abundance around us, urging a transformation in our approach to food and sustainability, as we embrace the natural world’s generosity.This week’s episode was recorded and produced in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), Nauset, and Pawtucket, and in Wisconsin on the lands of the Ho-chunk, Patawatomi and Menomonee  people.Find us on Instagram @treespeechpodcast or treespeechpodcast.com. This is also where you can find our show notes and learn more about our featured trees.And thank you for joining tree speech today.

What if trees could whisper secrets of the past? Join us as we venture into the eerie realm of haunted trees and ghostly tales in our special episode of spooky trees. As the season of Samhain approaches and the veil between the living and the dead grows thin, we share chilling stories from Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn to the Mabira Forest of Uganda to Salem, Massachusetts.Join our guest storytellers Allison Meier, Emerald Forcier, Cheryl Mullings and Charles Linshaw around the fire as we share these macabre tales and embrace the spirit of the season. Listen now, if you dare...This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, as well as in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes, and in Wisconsin on the lands of the Ho-chunk, Potawatomi and Menomonee people, and in Maine on the lands of the Pernobscott tribes. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support. Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Dori Robinson and Jonathan Zautner.Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast