Former Yellowknife writer and biologist Jamie Bastedo is turning to poetry, art and forest ecology to tell the story of a single giant tree in his latest book, Ode to a Mother Tree.
Released on August 18, the book follows an imagined tree from a tiny seedling to a colossal giant, tracing the events that shaped its life along the way.
Bastedo describes the book as a “graphic poem,” combining haiku poetry, forest ecology and illustrations by longtime friend and artist Jim Savage.
The tree is fictional, but Bastedo said it is a composite of his experiences with giant trees, including a centuries-old white spruce that once stood near the mouth of Yellowknife River.
While taking visitors on nature tours, Bastedo would point out bullets, tobacco and coins embedded in the spruce’s bark—offerings left by people over generations.
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“That tree became kind of a storybook for a greater relationship with the land,” said Bastedo.
That relationship is at the heart of Ode to a Mother Tree. The tree’s life is marked by lightning, avalanches and human activity, reflecting the ways both nature and people can leave lasting marks.
Climate change and increasingly severe wildfires also find their way into the story. The tree begins as a seed in the aftermath of a catastrophic fire, with its eventual growth becoming part of a larger reflection on resilience and renewal.
Although Bastedo initially imagined the book as a children’s story, he said adult readers responded emotionally to it, leading him to see it as a book for all ages.
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For Bastedo, the tree’s journey from a tiny seed to a towering giant is also an allegory for human growth.
“I think it’s a call to connection with nature,” he said.
Ultimately, Bastedo hopes the book encourages readers to develop a deeper relationship with the natural world.
“The more we know trees as trees, the better we can care for them, and them us,” said Bastedo.
