About me

Beithe (pronounced Bey-uh, Beh-huh, or Beh) is the Scottish Gaelic name for the Birch tree. In ecological wisdom, the Birch is known as a pioneer species, an organism that establishes itself early on in the development of an ecosystem, and creates conditions for other species to grow and flourish. Birches also commonly form large stands in woodlands, and anyone who has walked through a Birch woodland in spring knows their delicate beauty. In folklore, and the indigenous Celtic wisdom of the British Isles, the Birch represents new beginnings, vitality and community. Beithe is the first letter of the Ogham alphabet. You see how one reflects the other, how science can echo traditional wisdom.

Because of this, to me, the Birch tree is the perfect symbol of holistic, ecocultural rewilding, it is a trailblazer, paving the way for other things to grow, and showing us how there is more than one way of knowing the world.

There is more to this story, of how Beithe Rewilding came to its name, but perhaps that is a tale for another time, around a campfire, under the stars.