What can the forest teach us of grief, of joy, of humanity? This week, poet and scientist Maya Khosla invites listeners into the forests of Northern California to find deep reverence for the power of biodiversity. Maya’s expertise on wildfires shines through this deep and well-informed conversation as she and Ayana share in a love for the forest and a deep-seated awe for the complexity of forest life. 

Maya introduces listeners to the science behind forest fires and urges us to see fire as not simply “destructive,” but rather as one of the many cycles of earth. From practices of cultural burning to current studies on post fire diversity, the creative and regenerative power of the forest cannot be overlooked. Maya and Ayana discuss the competing frameworks of deep time as opposed to human urgency, and touch on the many ways that impatient pursuit of profit and extraction have shaped forest management practices across centuries. 

This episode is a balm for the grief that comes with knowing the wild intimately. Both mourning with us and encouraging us to turn towards abundance and hope as well, Maya “translates the field into verse.” Her poetic insight gives vital emotional context to the complexity of loss and continued life following forest fire.

Maya Khosla is a wildlife biologist and writer. She served as Sonoma County Poet Laureate (2018-2020), bringing Sonoma’s communities together through poetry gatherings and field walks after the 2017 fires. Sonoma County Conservation Council (SCCC) selected her as one of the 2020 Environmentalists of the Year. Her poetry books include All the Fires of Wind and Light from Sixteen Rivers Press (2020 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award), Keel Bone from Bear Star Press (Dorothy Brunsman Poetry Prize), and Web of Water: Life in Redwood Creek. Her writing has been featured in documentary films including Village of Dust, City of Water, about the water crises in rural India.

♫ The music featured in this episode is "...So Long And To The Horizon" by Lake Mary "Moss Fire" by Forest Veil, and "as we are now" by Bird by Snow.

Episode References

Maya Khosla –Website

Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology

ELEMENTAL –Film

Bring Your Own Brigade  

The Rebirth of Environmentalism by Doug Bevington

Take Action

Maya asks listeners to visit the forest, get involved in camera work, and to support  selected authors and organizations listed in the key publications below.

“Climate Justice Groups Slam California Climate Plan Ahead of Hearing” | Food & Water Watch

“Cumulative Tree Mortality from Commercial Thinning and a Large Wildfire in the Sierra Nevada, California”

“Forest Carbon Emission Sources Are Not Equal: Putting Fire, Harvest, and Fossil Fuel Emissions in Context”

“Area burned in the western United States is unaffected by recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks” | PNAS

“Why Keeping Mature Forests Intact Is Key to the Climate Fight” | Yale E360

“Logging Didn’t Stop the Camp Fire” | John Muir Project

“Fire, water, and biodiversity in the Sierra Nevada: a possible triple win” | IOPscience

Center for Biological Diversity, the John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute – RE: Technical Estimation of GHG Emissions of Wildfire and Forest Management Activities

“Congress Falsely Asserts Carbon Neutrality of Burning Biomass for Electricity” | Union of Concerned Scientists

“Forest Biomass Energy is a False Solution”

“To Counter Climate Change, We Need to Stop Burning Things” | The New Yorker

“500+ scientists tell EU to end tree burning for energy” | WWF

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