karine Marsilly was born in 1974 and grew up in Île-de-France. Her story among the trees begins as a child, during the holidays with her grandfather in Haute-Savoie, between forests and mountains. Twenty years ago you discovered the job of arborist tree climber, practiced only by men. She works as a freelancer with one goal: to take care of trees. She has healed more than seven thousand. You live in Normandy, on a farm where you raise cows. She wrote My life in the trees (Einaudi).
Karine Marsilly (c) Pierre-Yves_LE_MEUR
6.30
“Turn On the Computer. I force myself to do the accounting and read the emails. Then I check sites and applications to get a picture of the weather forecast for the day. After breakfast, I stop for a few minutes to play with my dog and two cats. They are not the only members of the “family” to require attention. I live on a farm with two horses, a donkey, eleven cows and three goats: a merry company that needs to be fed.’
8 o’clock
8 am. Karine Marsilly brings hay to her cows. In the photo Mimosa with her son Pirou.
«I collect the bales of hay, load them onto the wheelbarrow and distribute their ration to each animal. When everyone has a full belly, my day begins in the trees. Which lasts, sometimes, even 10 hours ».
9 o’clock
«I meet the plants to take care of, accompanied by my dog or some young intern. I examine my “patient” from root to top, circle around him as if introducing myself. I check for fungi and insects. Then, I install the climbing rope to be able to reach the top quickly and safely with a harness. I lock the rope between my feet and pull with my arms. At first it seemed impossible, then the muscles got used to the effort. Now it’s as simple as walking.”
10 am
«The “visit” to the tree begins: pruning is never an end in itself, but a technique at the service of the plant and its well-being. I chose to work with the Japanese saw, archaic for many, fundamental to me. Working only with the strength of my arms, I can better feel the texture of the wood and measure its changes: one branch is not worth the other».
11 o’clock
11 am. Karine Marsilly lectures in schools with her illustrated book “My life with trees. How to become a tree-climber arborist” (Einaudi)
«Once the diagnosis has been made, the therapy begins. Every intervention is to ensure the trees health and longevity. I refuse to shoot them down without a valid reason: my approach is medical. More and more often I participate in events, festivals, meetings in schools on the theme of the importance of trees for the environment. As I wrote in my book we cannot live without trees. In their own way, they are our roots.”
1.30 pm
“Lunch breaks are casual. It depends on the trees to be pruned and the time I need to do the job».
19.30
Karine Marsilly’s house in Normandy.
«Back home I clean and check the equipment for the next day. If I have brought good branches with me, I stack them to sort them in the collection center».
8.30 pm
“Stop in the kitchen to prepare dinner. Then, on the sofa, I start studying. I keep myself updated on scientific discoveries, on the philology of trees and on the communication processes between different specimens or of the same species, finding confirmations of my perceptions as a child during my escapes into the forest».
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