Steinbeck didn’t live to see the work of a team of tree-climbing scientists who have now photographed two of the largest trees in the world: The President, a giant sequoia in Sequoia National Park featured in the breathtaking video above; and, in 2009, a coast redwood in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

Redwoods are spiritual beings to me; the redwood forest is my cathedral. When I need to get in touch with the universe, I go find a redwood. There is a little grove of coast redwoods in Bidwell Park within walking distance of my house; they were brought here as seedlings from Arcata. I visited the coast redwoods and the sequoias several times as a child and have returned many times as an adult. It’s like a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Director Michael Kuehnert’s award winning film Save the Farm jumps into the center of the battle to save the country’s largest urban farm, the 14 acre South Central Farm in the weeks leading up the farmers’ eviction.

Developed on an empty lot which was later bought by the City of Los Angeles under eminent domain and mitigated to the community after the Rodney King riots, the South Central Farm was a community venture with 350 farmers growing their own organic crops for food or for sale at the weekly farmer’s market on the land. But the lot’s previous owner, developer Ralph Horowitz claimed the city had violated a clause in the sale, and sued to get the property back. Three courts threw out his suit, but in 2004 Horowitz prevailed and bought back the property for $5 million, and claimed he had a buyer willing to pay $16.3 millions.