The Old Man of the Trees - André Montluçon passes on his passion

By Mike K-H

As soon as André Montluçon meets you, he starts trying to entice you to follow him through shady paths deep into the forest. Don't worry. He just wants to show you his favorite trees

Now retired after a lifetime in education, he devotes his life to passing on his passion for trees. He takes children and adults, locals and passing tourists, on a tour of exceptional trees. He knows about them because he found and catalogued most of them.

A group of children follows him solemnly along a narrow path, wondering what is in store. Suddenly, they are in a clearing dominated by a huge oak tree. André sits at the foot of the tree and the children gather round him. He used to do a lot of theatre, and knows the importance of a good entrance.

'I planted an oak 25 years ago', André tells them. 'Its trunk is now 92cm round. The circumference of this tree's trunk is five and a half metres. This is what I mean by an exceptional tree. This tree is more than 300 years old.'

He is just as interested in what trees are (or were) used for.

'People used to extract oil from acorns', he tells the children, encouraging them to pick some up and look at them closely. 'They produce very good oil, and it doesn't go rancid.

'People brought their acorns to the press, and they were given all the oil which ran in a continuous stream. The next lot was given to the man who worked the press. After that, the acorns were heated up and pressed again to make oil for lamps.'

André believes that knowledge fires concern and passion. He passes on his knowledge in the hope that he will inspire people to be concerned and passionate about nature. In retirement, he still has a purpose to his life.

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