> The following is a section of a longer essay I am working on  
> entitled "Defining a Forest Aesthetics."  It is not complete unto  
> itself,  but I thought I would post it now and get your reactions,  
> while  am working on the rest of the essay.

> Ed Frank, April 05, 2009

> ---------------------------------------------------------------------

> Why do people enjoy a walk in a forest?  Foremost, I think, is a  
> sense of escape from civilization.  There is a chance to escape  
> from the sounds of industry, traffic, and urban living.  There is a  
> chance to escape from the hardscapes and sharp edges of developed  
> landscape.  There is a chance to escape from the rigid orderliness  
> of painted white lines, exactly space lots, telephone poles.  There  
> is a release from the pressures of these trappings of civilization  
> as the forest provides a buffer to our senses.  The sounds of  
> animals, birds, rustling leaves, and trickling water dampen the  
> echoes of civilization.  The upswept trunks of trees and cushions  
> of bright green moss, and touches of color from a forest flower  
> smooth the remembrance of the edges of civilization.   The forest  
> is not chaotic, but the subtle patterns of spacing and size are  
> variable, malleable, and flow freely from one to another.   Both  
> size and degree of naturalness of the forest play a role in the  
> escape.  The larger the area, the greater chance to avoid the  
> encroaching effects of civilization.   The more natural the area,  
> the fewer aspects are present to remind someone of from what they  
> trying to escape.

> A second factor oft described as being go in the presence of  
> something greater than one’s self.   This is both in terms of size  
> and in terms of age.  Large trees are massive in size compared to  
> an individual and the idea that they are alive, just as a person is  
> alive gives a person a sense of scale.  Old trees tap another  
> aspect of the same thought.   The old tree in the forest may have  
> been here before Europeans came to the new world.  It might have  
> been here to bear silent witness to great events of history.  It  
> may persist long into the future.  It demonstrates how ephemeral is  
> the length of a human lifespan when compared to that of some of  
> these aged trees.  If the visitor is of a religious nature, he may  
> see the forest as someplace that has seen the touch of God,  
> untrammeled by the hand of man, and feel the presence of the divine  
> being.

> A third factor is the sense of mystery encountered when exploring a  
> forest.  In a natural setting someone does not know what he will  
> see around the next bend of the trail, or on top of the next rock.  
> People are curious by nature and have a drive to explore their  
> environment.  In a forest there is a feeling that not everything is  
> known and planned.  A patch of ferns may pop up anywhere growing in  
> a pool of light.  There may be young tree seedling growing on a  
> fallen log.  Not only is there a question of what you may find, but  
> a question of why it is there, and how does everything work  
> together.  It has been argued by a few that knowledge of forest  
> processes may detract from this sense of mystery, I believe that  
> knowledge of the forest simply changes the focus of the mystery.  
> Knowledge allows you to see relationships and processes a casual  
> observer might not have noted.

> A fourth factor is the survivors in the forest.  These are trees,  
> plants, and systems that have survived harsh time and are still  
> alive.  Dwarfed, twisted and gnarled trees fall into this  
> category.  They have been described as “aged with adversity.”  
> Perhaps seen in their twisted forms is a reflection the struggles a  
> viewer has gone through in their own lives. Likewise the presence  
> of rare or unusual creatures or plants in an area testifies to  
> their struggle to survive as a species.  There are signs of the  
> cycle of life in the forest.  Wherever a tree has fallen, new  
> plants spring up in the opening created.  Fungi grow on dead wood  
> breaking it down to nutrients.  Fallen trunks form the seedbed for  
> the next generation of forest as small trees grow amongst the moss  
> and ferns breaking down the fallen tree.  It is a sign not of  
> survivor of an individual, but of the forest community as a whole.  
> It is a sign that there is something beyond death for these fallen  
> giants.

> A fifth factor is one of simple beauty.  The trunks of the trees  
> and outcrops of rocks form a framework for small vignettes of  
> forest life.  These scenes show the interplay play of light and  
> dark and the varied textures and colors of the life, the soil, and  
> stone of the forest.   Enhancing  these visual elements are the  
> background of forest sounds, the smell of the air and soil, the  
> feeling of the wind and the rolling ground, and textures and  
> patterns of the forest itself. There are scenes of a single tree  
> demonstrating its size and power; demonstrating its perfection of  
> symmetry and form.  There are scenes of less flamboyant trees, each  
> with their own personality, and scenes of family groves of trees.  
> There are larger scenes of tree trunks fading into the distance  
> into the depths of the forest.  Old growth forests are often fairly  
> open as the canopy of old forest is nearly closed and less light  
> reaches the forest floor.  People tend to find this openness  
> pleasing.  It is not manicured, but still open.  Occasional open  
> patches in the canopy give rise to a profusion of growth where  
> light reaches the forest floor.  These light patches adds to the  
> vitality of the forest experience overall.  In contrast young  
> forests, those regrowing after timbering or cutting, are typically  
> filled with brushy growth and are messy.  What is appears to add  
> vitality in small patches is less inviting when it consumes the  
> entire forest.

> The final major factor is the emotional connection people seem to  
> have with the forest.  It has been suggested that this relates to  
> our ancestors living in a forest as some time in our long  
> evolutionary past.  Others might say we are relating to human life  
> before we were tossed out of the Garden of Eden.  Our connection  
> with the forest is reflected in each of the factors already  
> discussed.  While this may the most difficult of the factors to  
> describe, it is none the less a real and critical aspect of how we  
> as a people relate to a forest.  Some people see the forest as  
> something menacing that needs to be controlled, others see it as a  
> welcoming entity to be embrace. Few people are totally indifferent  
> to the emotional impact of a forest.  The vast majority of people  
> have positive feelings about the forest.  I am sure to some degree  
> that a person’s emotional perspective on a forest is related to  
> cultural factors.  As such there is a need to promote a positive  
> respect for a healthy, natural forest.  I am also sure that some of  
> the emotional connection we feel to a forest is hardwired into our  
> genetic makeup.