Shared Roots: What Forests Teach Us About Being in Community with Women

By Michelle Gallagher Escobar

Deep beneath the forest floor lies a hidden, living connection known as the mycorrhizal network. Through this intricate web of fungal threads, multi-age trees are intimately connected, from towering old-growth crones to vulnerable young saplings. When a sapling sprouts in the deep shade, unable to reach enough sunlight for photosynthesis, it doesn't wither. Instead, it relies on nutrients, water, and sugars pumped directly to its roots from the older, taller trees through the underground network. In a healthy forest, survival has never been an individual pursuit; it has always relied on community and kinship.

This biological truth is far more than a beautiful metaphor. As we look closer at human physiology, we find that sisterhood is mapped directly onto our own nervous systems. We need each other not just to thrive, but to survive.

While many associate oxytocin (the bonding hormone) with childbirth and mothering, the body releases it during times of intense stress. This chemical surge serves a primal purpose: it motivates us to seek out nurturing interactions and safe containers. When we answer that biological nudge and gather with other women, the connection quite literally alters our chemistry. Cortisol drops, anxiety softens, and a deep, visceral sense of physical security washes over us.

This response has deep evolutionary roots.

Throughout the history of womankind, the ability to form strong social bonds was essential for both individual and collective survival.

Gathering in a women's circle is not a modern trend; it is preventative medicine for our nervous systems. Just like the trees, we are wired to share our resources, drop our defenses, and help each other grow. In nurturing the collective, we naturally nurture ourselves. This capacity lives deep within our roots as women, ancient, quiet, and waiting for us to return to it.

With warmth,

Michelle Gallagher Escobar

Wild Women Hawai‘i

WildWomenHawaii.com

Sources

https://www.nationalforests.org/blog/underground-mycorrhizal-network

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-reasons-community-essential-success-wellbeing-women-alisha-lubben-2j2he