Julianne Skai Arbor's Blog

The Phenomenality of Japan's Sacred Shinto Trees

© Julianne Skai Arbor
The 1200 year old Okusu Camphor Shrine tree on ShiShi Island As the self-portrait photographer and arborist TreeGirl, I have spent hours of intimate time with hundreds of trees—some of the most ancient and largest individuals on the planet. My fascination with trees is equally ecological, sensory, and spiritual, but I mostly depend on my intuitive senses to guide me. I seek these trees out like a treasure hunt because...

My name is “TreeGirl” (capital T, capital G) because so much of my life’s purpose, identity, and bliss revolve around meeting and photographing myself in the nude with trees around the world. Trees are my passion and purpose. I love learning about and from trees, educating others about trees and how to connect with them, having an ineffable spiritual connection with trees, and being in loving, respectful service to them.


I kind of think I was chosen by the trees; I don’t really have a c...

For 37 out of 46 consecutive days I was naked in the wild.
The Cathedral Fig, (Green Fig- Ficus virens), a kind of strangler fig, is home for many beings in the Atherton Tablelands, Queensland.
I returned recently from an ecstatic expedition Down Under to the exotic lands (for us northerners) of Australia and New Zealand for an epic TreeGirl photo shoot and returned with photos of 30 new species. With the exception of a few days of exclusive traveling and visiting relatives, every da...

Forest Bathing sounds like something TreeGirl would be in to. After all being naked in the forest is a relaxing and cleansing experience. But there are no bars of soap or towels in this activity. In fact, forest bathing is more akin to basking in the atmosphere and the life force energy of the forest. It is both a healing practice of contemplation and multi-sensory engagement while taking a relaxing stroll through the forest. This is ecotherapy at its simplest: nature = healing. Lots of...

While visiting Seattle in early April, I had an intuitive TreeGirl hit that there must be some Big trees nearby. I tuned into my TreeGirl radar, and with the help of the internet, I found them. Over the ferry and through the woods to the beautiful wet, west coast of British Columbia I went. Although it was not my genetic grandmother's house I was visiting, one could call these ancient trees are our grandmothers, and indeed they are for the First nations peoples who have depended upon them fo...

Autumn is here! That means it is Acorn gathering and eating season!

ABOUT ACORNS
For thousands of years, people who lived among oaks in the Northern Hemisphere relied heavily on acorns as a food source. In fact, acorns and chestnuts were the primary sources of carbohydrates until the domestication of agriculture and wheat, starting 10,000 years ago. Even after the large-scale production of grains, acorns continued to be an important food staple. Peoples who ate acorns as a mainstay are n...

Autumn is here! That means it is Acorn gathering and eating season!

ABOUT ACORNS
For thousands of years, people who lived among oaks in the Northern Hemisphere relied heavily on acorns as a food source. In fact, acorns and chestnuts were the primary sources of carbohydrates until the domestication of agriculture and wheat, starting 10,000 years ago. Even after the large-scale production of grains, acorns continued to be an important food staple. Peoples who ate acorns as a mainstay are...

Last month, I went on a TreeGirl tree hunt with my treegirl friend to the rainy Olympic Peninsula in western Washington State. The object of our desire was an ancient, thousand year old tree, and the former world's 'biggest' Western Redcedar tree (Thuja plicata, not a true cedar at all, but in the cypress family).

Before the trip, we had only seen one photo, and knew not yet where this tree resided. Would the tree be as magnificent as the picture and worthy of a treegirl photo shoot?...