Extra Credit

     Jared Farmer is an American historian, writer, photographer, and geohumanist. He is a Walter H.

Annenberg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. A lot of his work centers

around the intersection of history, ecology, and the environment. He has released three books: On

Zion’s Mount: Mormons, Indians, and the American Landscape, Trees in Paradise: A California

History, and Elderflora: A Modern History of Ancient Trees. All these books have received

multiple awards and appreciation within academia. His background includes being born and

raised in Provo, Utah, living in California, and now teaching and performing research in

Philadelphia.

    His recent work has centered around Chronodiversity: Thinking about Time with Trees, which is

what the event talk centered around. The event shared Farmer’s understanding of how our human

relationship with trees has evolved over millennia. Trees are organisms that are deeply

interwoven with the history of culture and science of complex global ecosystems. Farmer used

this even to reflect on the relationship with long-lived trees and contemplate the future of history

in a changing society. This event took place on November 14th, 2024 in partnership with The

Long Now Foundation.

    Farmer explores the concept of time from the perspective of trees and biodiversity. He mentions

that although AI and technology have taken over the world and are easy to imagine running the

future, he likes to research how humans evolve on earthly terms. He first mentions how trees

living or dead can be old specimens. Then he talks about how trees can comprise old

populations. Thirdly, he mentions how trees can be the inheritors of old genetic lineages. Lastly,

he discussed how trees can be in old relationships with people as part of old practices.

    Chronodiversity refers to the variety and variability of temporal phenomena in the natural world.

In this context, it could involve discussing how different tree species experience and represent

time differently, such as through their growth rates, lifespans, and responses to environmental

changes. Farmer mentioned how what truly interests him is how long-lived plants allow humans

to think about and emotionally relate to long units of time. They provide a bridge between

human time and geological time.

    Jared Farmer discusses how trees, as long-lived organisms, provide a unique perspective on time,

history, and ecological changes. The talk covered topics like dendrochronology (the study of tree

rings to understand past climates), the role of trees in ecosystems over time, and how human

activities impact trees and forests across different time scales. This perspective encourages a

broader understanding of biodiversity that includes temporal aspects, highlighting the importance

of conserving not just a variety of species, but also a variety of life histories and ecological

strategies that operate over different temporal scales.

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