Charismatic Megafauna is a classification of animals that environmentalists and conservationists use to simplify a complex issue. There is a reason “save the polar bears” or “save the whales” are easier rallying cries for the public than “we need to limit CO2 emission by a certain percentage.” It is easier for the general public to see and understand a problem by describing how it impacts the large animals on our planet.

This is an odd classification because the only thing they have in common is “being big.” You wouldn’t say a lion is more closely related to an elephant than a housecat, but housecats are not in this category. What makes it odd is we classify all ‘charistmatic megaflora’ into one word: trees.

“Survival of the fittest,” is the foundation of the Darwinian Evolutionary Theory. The weakest don’t have as many opportunities to pass along their genes, causing them to become extinct. But does ‘fittest’ have to mean competition?

Humanity has only been able to achieve civilization by working together. Cooperation often leads to the advancement of our species, rather than its downfall. Would that strategy work with other organisms? More than just small levels of symbiotic relationships; can non-humans make complex, cooperative networks?

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I lay in a hammock as the clouds drift by over the island. As I finish my book, I look up at the two amazing trees supporting me. Not only are they holding my weight above the ground, but are also giving me fresh oxygen to breathe. They reduce the erosion of the island where I work. Even deeper, they challenge my mind and my being to think in new and creative ways. They stand as testaments to time and wisdom.