Into the Forests | Branching Out | Part 1

April is Earth month, a time to celebrate our natural world. It's also a call to reflect on our impact and think of new ways that we can protect and restore the planet.

I'm Ginger Z, chief meteorologist at ABC News. My family and I are hitting the road to help rebuild and get a firsthand look at what it takes to save the planet. Adrian on board, Miles, my husband Ben, and me leading the way through this epic eco-adventure, all in the name of science. Where R [Music].

Now, more than three trillion trees live on planet Earth, and I know that might seem like a lot, but wildfires, disease, and clear-cutting now destroy as many as 15 billion trees every year. Today, my family is hitting the road with National Geographic explorers and writers to see how we can fix our forests. So, we went out in search of solutions starting in the soil.

So, what we want to do is get the roots used to the soil and working our way up. Oh, there we go! To discover why it's so important to plant new roots and reach new heights. To kick off our journey, we connected with National Geographic writer Sarah Gibbons.

"So, Sarah, I know that National Geographic is all about fixing forests; that's the main issue, and you wrote the article on the American chestnut. Tell us all about it."

"So, at National Geographic, we devoted the entire May issue to forests, and the great thing about chestnut research is that it's not just about the American chestnut tree today. So many of the world's trees are facing diseases, like the blight. If we can figure out how to save the American chestnut, which is one of the first trees to really be overtaken by a horrible disease like this, then we might figure out how to save other trees, which would ultimately save our forests."

"So, we're about to go explore and plant some American chestnut trees. What should we know before we get in there?"

"You should think about all of the great benefits that you're providing to an ecosystem. It's only through scientific research and the hard work of a lot of volunteers that these trees even still exist in the form they do today. So, hopefully your tree planting will be part of a large effort to restore something that's the main goal."

With that in mind, we packed up true New York City mountain with us two American chestnut saplings.

"All right, so we've made it to the chestnut part of our plantings. So, we want to take these disease-resistant trees, put them back to where they belong, and have them once again be part of the landscape. So let's pick that up! See, a large tree can provide enough oxygen for a family of four, so that'd be like all of us. The American chestnut was once one of the largest trees on the East Coast; it could reach higher than a 10-story building, and it was wide enough to fit a car.

At the turn of the century, the once dominating American chestnut was nearly eliminated by blight— that's a tree sickness that still exists today. How about Miles and me?”

"You and Adrian, we both raced to see who could plant a tree faster. Let's do it! Dig fast!"

"How's it going over there, Daddy?"

"So well! I think we're good. Okay, A.G., ready to put the tree in? Yeah! Oh cool! All right, you want to do the final step?"

"Okay, it's literally a step—stepping on it. You've got to step on all the soil, make sure it's nice."

While our trees might not grow quite as large as their ancestors, they do represent a step in the right direction, especially in a city like New York.

"Okay! High five, babe! Yes, our tree! Welcome to our chestnut tree!"

With those roots firmly in the ground, we head south to meet a scientist who has spent her life in the treetops.

"Meg! Meg! Hi guys, welcome to Florida! Welcome to the treetops!"

"All right, so my nickname is Canopy Meg! I am a National Geographic Explorer, and I was one of the world's first arbonauts. You know what an astronaut is, right? Guess what arbonauts do? They explore the treetops!"

And she's not just an arbonaut but also a detective—a leaf detective. Her job is to uncover the secret life of trees.

"We have to really save our big trees. We can't just plant a little tree and say it's okay to cut down the big trees. We got to really save these senior citizens, as I call them. And while most trees do grow from the ground up, Meg brought us to one that grows in a different direction."

"This is my favorite tree in the whole world! This is called a fig tree, but there's about 800 species of fig, and specifically, there's about 300 called banyans. See how they kind of walk? They look like they're walking; that's because they start life at the top of the tree. A fig bird poops out a seed on another tree, and they grow their roots down. These are new roots that are looking for soil, and when they hit the soil, then they'll grow into something like this. So, this is a baby version of that! It's a baby version, and that's what Tarzan hangs on."

Banyan trees provide fig fruits that sustain so many species of birds, but also these giant tree trunks carry water and nutrients from the ground all the way to the towering treetops, which is where we're headed next.

"This is actually the first public canopy walkway in North America—the whole continent!"

"How tall, Meg?"

"35 ft for the canopy bridge, 75 ft for the tower."

This canopy walk in Florida's Myakka River State Park is a portal to a place that most humans don't get to access, especially those who are a little more apprehensive.

"I feel like Indiana Jones, without any bravery whatsoever, up here!”

Scientists like Meg can literally get a bird's-eye view, climbing into the forest ecosystem.

"Meg, hold my hand here! I'll switch and hold my hand!"

"Oh my God!"

"But you're going to love the view!"

"Yeah, I hope so!"

"VI is worth everything—wow! If you're brave enough, you can probably find a canopy walk in your state. They're the perfect way to see our forest from a whole new angle."

Our ascent to the sky was only the beginning. This time, we ditch the stairs for one final epic climb.

"So just around this corner is our climbing tree—that's a big tree!"

"That's a big tree; is that great or what? You don't have these in New York!"

"Oh, it's a beautiful big live oak, but to see these glorious behemoths from the ground just doesn't give you the full experience. So I'm suiting up to join the birds in the treetops—60 ft up!"

"And this is, I imagine, we're being very careful. This is not harmful to the trees."

"This is not harmful to the tree; when you get up to the top of the tree, you'll notice that the rope actually doesn't even run over the tree. There's a piece of webbing, which is like this, that goes over the tree. It's called a cambium saver because if your weight was on the tree, it would start rubbing it. But we want to take care of them."

"Get me hooked up, buddy! Safety first—yes, that's a good look!"

"Oh, there we go! It's so fun to branch out because you get to be up in the trees with National Geographic. You learn about all of the little creatures that are up in the trees, the biodiversity, and there's no better way to do that than to climb them."

"Go, Mommy, go! Go, Mommy, go!"

"No way! Daddy's going that high. Go, Mommy, go!"

"Yeah, there's no better place to branch out than at the canopy!"

"Oh yeah, being up there you can really feel the importance of preserving our forests. Deforestation, invasive pests and disease, and of course climate change—they all threaten our oldest trees. While planting new trees does help replace those that we lose, it's just as important to protect those that have been growing for hundreds of years because bigger trees make more oxygen, and they can hold more carbon dioxide. They're also a whole lot more fun to climb in."

In our next episode, our family meets some extraordinary farmers that are exploring new ways to grow food and lessen our environmental impact. Click on the links below to watch more episodes of Branching Out! [Music]