Pt (II): Prosperity of the Pine Pollen Harvest Season ~ Amplifying Beauty & Abundance

“Out of abundance was taken abundance & still abundance remained”

One of the most important aspects of pine pollen harvesting is the approach to ethical & sustainable practices. One of the main ways we approach ethical harvesting is by hand picking only what we can reach with the assistance of small ladders. On average we only access & harvest about 10% of what the trees have to offer.

This is key because it means there is still an abundance of pollen left to be released from the catkins upon ripening, this pollen is then spread throughout the ecosystem it inhabits. If you look at the powerhouse of nutritional density in the pollen, you can start to get an idea of how integral it must be in the growth & sustainability of its environment.

In terms of my own approach to harvesting, I sought to amplify this sense of abundance & beauty through a deep appreciation of the aesthetic I found myself in each day, along with the smells of the forest & the song of the birds. My work environment was a constant invitation to acknowledge the beauty of the natural world & to sync with its rhythm's.

Each tree that I approached & harvested from was offered a gift of breath & a blessing of thanks upon my completion. In each exchange no matter if the catkins were small or large, I wanted to recognize each tree for its part in providing me with an income & a sense of purpose.

Being my first season harvesting, I was also often in a position where I had to drive to brand new areas not knowing where exactly to find trees to harvest. This sense of abundance helped me to have faith that I would be provided for & the right trees & land would unfold in my path as needed.

The final idea that I would like to leave you with in terms of abundance & beauty, is that I have come to believe it is the natural state in which we were meant to live. Modernity has produced an almost all pervading sense of scarcity that keeps us locked in thought patterns of “not enough”.

But that’s not how the environments we harvest from operate. They naturally balance & provide all that is needed. The Indigenous peoples of the land had a deep relationship with this abundance, knowing that through a reciprocal relationship, they would have all that was needed to thrive.

Blessings,
Brendan Hamilton