Church of the Woods Earth Exchange

The people of Church of the Woods in Canterbury, NH, USA, gathered on a little knoll amidst a forest that is vibrantly regrowing after destructive logging. Humans have cut forests around the globe for centuries, destroying the habitat of countless creatures and initiating increases in atmospheric carbon. At Church of the Woods, we gathered around one stump to celebrate the ways in which forests can regrow. Even as trees are growing anew on the knoll where we gather, the stump itself is full of life in its own beautiful decay. Two weeks after these pictures were taken, this and other nearby stumps were knocked over by a black bear who came to feast on the ants that had made their homes in the stump. Life goes on in endless song…