Does friendship between trees exist? Are trees able to communicate with each other? Do they take care of their neighbours and offspring? In their current movie „Intelligent Trees“ forest ranger Peter Wohlleben and forest scientist Suzanne Simard are looking for answers for this kind of questions .

On their wondrous trip to the world of trees they learn that trees have a subtle social structure. According to the scientists they are „individual beings that have feelings, know the concept of friendship, communicate through a common language and care for each other.“ What we recognize as a tree is only the tip of the iceberg. The essential grapevine of the woods is happening below ground. Through their gigantic root network – the wood wide web – trees in a forest are connected with each other and share information. What is particularly interesting about Simards and Wohllebens findings is what we can learn from it as a society.

I personally think the trailer is too emotional, but don’t let that discourage you from watching it. Or better: don’t judge a film by its trailer, because I’ve already read books and interviews and watched a TED-talk by Simard and Wohlleben and I think in their field they’re unparalleled.

You can rent and stream the documentary on Vimeo for a low price: