Table of Contents

Blackbirds Singing in the Apple Tree, a Preface
Wartime Days
Becoming a Forester
Transforming Landscapes
Presence of History
Trees
Wood
Kindness, Cruelty and Efficiency
Promise and Practice
Under the Banyan Tree
Bushfires
Going to the Cinema
The Bush Capital
Dust and Dusting
Trotsky, Stalin and my Solar Panels
Mulligans Flat
Returning to Braudel
Looking for Meaning
Going to Kew Gardens
Finding Eden in a Cornish Pit
Two Singapore Gardens
Stuff
Other People
Wurundjeri in the Park
Going on Demos
Pestilence Days
Reading in the Shade, an Ending

About the Author

John Dargavel (b. 1932) has been deeply engaged in forests, environments, science, people, politics and history. Inquisitive and impatient at established boundaries, he has been drawn into biography, cultural landscapes and the place of trees in remembrance. He has written papers, books and a play, and has edited collections. His most recent book on the history of forest science over the last three centuries, Science and Hope: a Forest History was written with Elisabeth Johann and published in 2013 by The White Horse Press, followed by a German edition in 2018. His most recent collection, Restoring Forests in Times of Contagion: Papers to Celebrate John Evelyn's 400th Birthday was edited with Ben Wilkie and published online. John was born in London, trained as a forester in Scotland and has worked in different regions of Australia. He was a founding member of the Australian Forest History Society. He is an Honorary Associate Professor in the Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University. He now lives in Melbourne.