Veteranisation is Saving Inhabitants Of The Sherwood Forest
Veteranisation directly employs biomimicry by artificially recreating natural tree aging processes, just as political interventions are currently being utilized to restore our Democracy.
Before you read this post, I have some sad news that many of you already know.
The Biden family announced that former President Joe Biden has an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has metastasized to the bone.
Joe Biden's administration has made environmental protection and climate action central pillars of its policy agenda, which makes mentioning his illness in this post even more relevant.
Biomimicry emulates nature's models, systems, and elements to solve complex human challenges sustainably. It incorporates the idea that with 3.8 billion years of evolutionary experience, nature offers innovative solutions to engineering, design, sustainability, and Democracy.
Sherwood Forest's ancient trees are vanishing, creating a crisis for the rare and specialized wildlife that depends on them. Conservationists are racing to bridge the centuries-wide habitat gap with innovative techniques like veteranisation. Without sustained intervention and protection, the forest's legendary biodiversity could be lost for generations.
Veteranisation is a conservation technique in which deliberate damage is inflicted on younger, healthy trees to artificially accelerate the development of features typically found in ancient or veteran trees, such as cavities, dead wood, sap runs, and decaying wood.
The primary aim is to create microhabitats that support a wide range of wildlife, including birds, bats, insects, fungi, lichens, and mosses, which would otherwise only be available in much older trees.
Because the normal aging of the trees in the Sherwood Forest and other habitats worldwide is being disrupted, arborists are following the principles of biomimicry, how nature naturally cares for itself, and stepping in to care for the environment.
Veteranisation directly employs biomimicry by artificially recreating natural tree aging processes. Techniques include:
Creating woodpecker-like holes to simulate bird activity.
Breaking branches or damaging bark to imitate storm or animal damage.
Inoculating fungi to induce decay and hollow formation.
These methods mimic natural events like storms, animal browsing, or fungal growth, which typically take centuries to develop in veteran trees. By accelerating these processes, veteranisation bridges the "missing generation" of ancient trees, ensuring continuity of habitats for species dependent on decaying wood.
International trials, such as the 25-year study across Sweden, Norway, and England, demonstrate the effectiveness of veteranisation. Artificially created features are colonized by bats, wood-boring insects, and birds within a year rather than decades. This approach aligns with biomimicry's goal of sustainable problem-solving by replicating nature's timelines and interactions.
History of The Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest, famed for its ancient oaks and legendary connection to Robin Hood, is facing a significant ecological crisis: its ancient trees are disappearing at an alarming rate, threatening the unique biodiversity that depends on them.
Sherwood Forest's ancient trees, some dating back nearly 1,000 years, have survived centuries of human impact, including extensive logging for shipbuilding and construction, especially during the Napoleonic Wars and for landmarks like St. Paul's Cathedral. Survival trees were often spared because they were too old or gnarled to be commercially valuable.
Over time, repeated waves of falling and changing land management practices have left only a handful of these ancient giants standing, such as the iconic Major Oak.
Additional pressures have emerged in the 20th and 21st centuries: urban development, agricultural intensification, and the loss of traditional woodland management have all contributed to the decline of ancient trees.
Ancient trees are irreplaceable habitats. Their decaying wood, hollow trunks, and unique features support many wildlife species, especially saproxylic invertebrates (species dependent on dead or decaying wood), such as the rare cardinal click beetle and wood-boring beetles.
As these ancient trees die, the specialist communities that rely on them-beetles, moths, bats, fungi, and more-face imminent collapse. Many species cannot survive in younger, "featureless" trees, and their populations are sharply declining.
There is a critical "habitat gap": Sherwood's next generation of trees is centuries younger and lacks the veteran features these specialist species need. Without intervention, the forest risks losing its unique biodiversity before new ancient trees can naturally develop.
Veteranisation is closing the habitat gap.
There are similarities between the disruption in the growth of the trees in the Sherwood Forest and the current disruption to democratic norms in the U.S.
Trump's recent actions, including efforts to erode voter access, undermine free and fair elections, and challenge checks and balances, are seen as significant threats to U.S. democracy.
The "Project 2025" agenda and the replacement of civil servants with loyalists, the stripping of voting protections, and the pardoning of January 6 insurrectionists are examples of moves that challenge the rule of law and democratic institutions.
Trump's rhetoric and actions, such as questioning the legitimacy of elections and encouraging distrust in democratic processes, have deepened political polarization and raised fears of potential civil unrest or even a modern civil war scenario.
Our multifaceted strategies to restore Democracy involve legal, legislative, civic, and grassroots actions.
Research on democratic backsliding globally highlights the importance of early and organized resistance. Lessons from other countries emphasize the need for rapid response, coalition building, and persistent civic engagement to prevent further erosion of democratic norms.
We can use the actions listed above to protect and restore Democracy, just as aborits use Veteranisation to preserve and revitalize our Natural world.
Thank you so much for reading my posts! Please see the suggestions below to join the resistance as Trump attempts to push Democracy towards Autocracy.
For a great example of decorum and civility with strength and conviction, I would watch videos on Schiff Notes from Senator Adam Schiff. To protect our Democracy, I suggest the following:
Please Join Advocacy groups like Indivisible and receive your political information from the unedited Substack posts.
Four out of many Law Firms fight for Democracy every day!
Elias Law Group, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, and CREW
For a summary of legal and Democracy Resistance updates, see
Today’s Edition Newsletter by Robert Hubbell
To learn more about Biomimicry