I, Bigleaf Maple (Generous Giver)

Published by Shelley Melville on 01/31/2026 01/31/2026

Speaking for the Trees: Voices in the Forest – Story #2

I am big leaf maple, the broad armed neighbour who never learned how to hold back. In this rare and threatened Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem, where every life is precious and every loss is felt, I’ve made it my purpose to give more than I take. It’s simply who I am. Generosity is my way of rooting myself in community.

Medicine for Those Who Listen Carefully

If you’ve walked beneath me in spring, you may have noticed the soft scent rising from my flowers or the quiet hum of life gathering in my branches. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds all find their way to my blooms, drawn by the early nectar I offer. And it isn’t only my flowers that hold life, my thick, calcium‑rich bark shelters whole miniature worlds. Moss, licorice fern, and lichen root themselves in my ridges, each one a reminder that I carry a kind of medicine that isn’t just held in bark or leaf. It’s the medicine of relationship, of showing up for one another season after season.

My gifts are not for rushing. They reveal themselves to those who linger, who listen, who remember that healing begins in community. I offer what I can, and in doing so, I hope to remind you of the strength that grows when we care for each other the way the forest cares for itself.

A Blanket for the Forest Floor

When autumn arrives, I shed my leaves in great, golden waves, as wide as dinner plates. I know they look like a mess to some, but to the forest, they are shelter.

Under my fallen leaves, countless small beings find refuge:

• Beetles tunneling through the softening layers
• Solitary bees tucking themselves into curled edges
• Moths and butterflies overwintering in quiet safety

My leaves are more than decoration. They are homes, nurseries, and pantries. They are the warm blanket that keeps the forest dreaming through winter.

A Gift for Your Garden, Too

Gardeners who welcome my leaves discover their generosity firsthand. Spread them over your beds and they will:

• Hold moisture through dry spells
• Feed the soil as they break down
• Invite earthworms and beneficial insects
• Protect tender roots from frost and heat

I give freely, and the soil responds in kind.

The Quiet Philosopher

I’ve always believed that giving is simply another form of belonging. Every leaf I drop, every insect I shelter, every bit of nourishment I return to the soil is my way of staying woven into this place we share. In this rare Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem, where every gesture matters, I’m grateful to play my part quietly and steadily, season after season.

And as for next month’s Voice in the Forest…well, I’ll step aside and let a very different neighbour speak. You’ll know them by their smooth bark, their salt toughened roots, and a spirit as resilient as the coastline itself. Arbutus has a story worth hearing.