This is a story of a man in Latvia
who lives among trees.
Rihards' workshop is a treasure trove
of ancient woodland crafts.
Rooted in the natural world,
he knows the forest's many secrets...
How all life here gently ebbs and flows.
Using only traditional tools,
he works to the slow and steady rhythm
of this world.
Rihards only takes a tree in winter
before the new growth of spring.
Since he was a boy, he's dreamt
about making a canoe from a single trunk.
Some fellow woodsmen have gathered to help.
They're reviving a centuries-old design
that's almost disappeared.
He's so familiar with the tree's growth,
its grain.
It's like a conversation with a friend.
Rihards learned these skills from his father
and passes them on to his son.
Absorbed in his craft...
Patient and focused.
Rihards connects to a much slower time.
A time that trees live on.
Trees exist on their own timescale.
These California redwoods are over 2,000 years old...
Descended from an ancient forest
which covered the entire coast
millions of years ago, long before we were here.
Redwoods have weathered droughts, fires, and storms.
Almost ten times more genetically complex
than humans, they can adapt to survive.
These trees are monuments to endurance,
standing the test of time.
Living among trees
opens the path to working with wood.
Rihards has left the trunk
for a week underwater to soften the wood.
He's mastered an art with a beautiful name,
steam bending...
Combining fire and water to sculpt the wood
and forever change its shape.
He senses just how much pressure to apply...
And how much heat
before the hull begins to split.
Slowly, he coaxes the trunk to unfold.
It takes just hours to mold the wood,
but months for it to set.
No machines...
just a skilled pair of hands conversing with the tree.
Over time, we've come to understand
the language of trees.
Like us, trees like to keep in touch.
In the Colorado Rockies,
these aspens are communicating with each other.
Above ground, they rise as individuals,
but below, they're all connected
to a vast, subterranean social network.
A single web of fungi weaves in and out of their roots
and runs throughout the entire forest.
Trees use it to send signals...
Share nutrients...
And pass messages to each other.
Mother trees nurture their saplings.
Healthy trees send extra food to the sick.
Together, the forest works
as one for the good of all.
Rihards has discovered the magic
stored in a tree's roots.
He makes this tar from old pine trees.
At the end of their lives,
trees pump all of their resin into their roots.
Rihards heats them up
to release the sticky, black gold
used to waterproof the canoe.
Tar is the essence of the forest
with its rich aroma and protective power.
It's a parting gift to the woodsman.
He takes only what he needs.
The forest always provides.
The forest yields another gift
to anyone who spends time there.
The Japanese call it shinrin-yoku.
Forest bathing.
It's nature's remedy.
As we walk among trees...
We open up to them with all our senses.
They shower us with natural oils.
Our heart rate slows.
Blood pressure falls.
Trees naturally call upon us to slow down...
To stop and listen...
To be in the moment.
Trees take care of us
as they take care of their own.
This is the wisdom of trees.
The life of a new boat begins.
An ancient tradition continues.
Rihards' story is now written in wood...
Carried away by the water.
Living among trees.