Everybody has a tree story.
Stories of trees, history, folklore, and the people shaped by them.
John Muir Climbs a Tree and Other Tree Tales
Trees mark our memories, witness history, and connect us to the people and places that shape us.
Compiled by lifelong arborist W. Jim Cortese, this one-of-a-kind anthology brings together stories from history, folklore, literature, and personal experience. It is a book for anyone who has ever climbed a tree, planted one, remembered one, or found meaning beneath its branches.
2026 Distinguished Achievement Award Winner
American Society for Horticultural Science
Human Issues in Horticulture
Meet Jim
W. Jim Cortese is a Knoxville-based arborist, forestry consultant, and lifelong student of trees. For more than four decades, he has worked in arboriculture, tree preservation, urban forestry, and the protection of historic trees across Tennessee and the Southeast.
His work is rooted in one belief: trees connect people to place, memory, and one another.
I have spent most of my life around trees. Over the years, I have learned that people rarely remember only the science or the work. They remember the tree they climbed as a child, the tree that shaded a family gathering, or the one that stood beside them through a particular time in life.
That is what led me to this book. I hope its stories from history, folklore, literature, and personal experience encourage you to think about the trees that have marked your own life.
— W. Jim Cortese
A Message From Jim
Investing in the Next Generation
Through the Cortese Arboriculture Scholarship, Jim supports students preparing for careers in forestry and arboriculture. It reflects his lifelong belief that caring for trees begins with investing in the people who will care for them next.
