the tiny balls of fat that could revolutionize medicine

#The tiny balls of fat that could revolutionize medicine series

They're strong, they're beautiful and they're graceful. The shape of those branches, the twist of the wood. What sets whitebark apart, though, is that they only grow at high elevation near treeline, that they have tasty, nutritious seeds, and that they can live for over a thousand years.Ĭlaire: I actually think that's the thing that's the most compelling about it is that it's like. Just like the western white pine and limber pine, which also grow in Glacier. Whitebark is part of a group of closely related trees called five needle pines. The tallest ones are about 50 feet tall and their bark is whitish gray-hence, the name. The tops are bushy, with their branches reaching up like a candelabra, and they're not too big as far as trees go. They sort of have a wise old, tough look about them. But whitebark pines aren't really like that. Peri: When I think of conifers, I usually picture a Christmas tree shape that classic spruce or fir silhouette. You know, and how can they be both at once? It's just so amazing to me that something so static can look so alive. It's like they're all, it's like they're flying in the wind, but they're. We went into the park to find and sketch some of these trees,Ĭlaire: One of the things that caught my eyes first about whitebark pine was the silver branches that all reach in the same direction to model what way the wind is blowing, and how they would all just *phewsh*. Here's Claire Emery, who created the cover art for our podcast this year. Peri: It's about a lot more than just a tree. Over the course of five chapters we'll learn why it matters, why it's dying and meet the people fighting to save it. Michael: This season is all about whitebark pine, an incredible tree that could soon disappear. We're all rangers here in Glacier.Īndrew: You don't need to listen to season one to understand this story, but if you're planning a visit to the park, last season will be a great place to start. It's also a story about the purpose of national parks and our relationship with the places we love. Peri: My name is Peri, and this is season two of Headwaters, a five episode story about my journey with a tree over the course of a summer in Glacier National Park, but this story is about so much more than whitebark pine. Meeting Ilawye was my introduction to whitebark pine and the start of a relationship I didn't expect. have died, and we're losing more each day.

More than half of all the whitebark in Glacier National Park and across the western U.S. And I'm wondering how many generations of trees have grown from its seeds? But this tree is dead, like so many other whitebark pines. I feel a sense of awe at this tree and what it's seen over the years. It's called Ilawye, the Great, Great Grandparent Tree. Peri: This story begins on top of a mountain, sitting at the foot of the largest whitebark pine tree I've ever seen. Imagine if we were to lose this tree, this species, you lose a lot more than just a tree. It's like a lifeline to that, to that other side, to that spiritual realm, you could even say. ShiNaasha: This tree has been here longer than me and knows more than me. But being able to put your hand on it or even hug it, and just knowing that this tree has been here for over a thousand years. Just when I talk about it, I mean, I get kinda the goosebumps and the chills. I mean, Ilawye is not alive, but it still has to me, it's like power or spirit.

So that's you know, to me, the other side of that. ShiNaasha: This tree knows a lot about me every time I do come up here, I'll pray to it. Lacy: Headwaters is brought to you by the Glacier National Park Conservancy. Peri All that and more, in season two of Headwaters.

#The tiny balls of fat that could revolutionize medicine series

Peri In this five-part series I'll learn why these trees are so critical, why they're dying, and meet the people trying to save them.Įxpert 3 The musclebound jocks from the university were now carrying cans of poison on their backs and squirting that poison right into the white pine trees, trying to save them. A lot of forests are in big trouble.Įxpert 2 I'm telling you it was like bombs had gone off all over the whitebark pine stand. And in season two of Headwaters, the Glacier National Park podcast, I set out to understand the most important tree that you've never heard of.Įxpert 1 And we could lose the tree. Peri Have you ever heard of a white bark pine?

Peri If you've ever been to Glacier National Park, you've seen a lot of trees. We ask, can people have a positive impact on their environment? Coming January, 2022. It’s also a story about the purpose of national parks and our relationship with nature. Season Two documents the generational effort to restore whitebark pine in five chapters.