My First True Love was a Tree
Alyson’s Blog: Peace, Love & Stories
In the early 1960s, we lived in Brooklyn, New York in an apartment building. So, my experience of nature was mostly through visits to Prospect Park. I still remember it vividly as a magical place with metal swing sets and squeaky sliding ponds*, the delightful crunch of leaves and pine needles underfoot, and of course, a wondrous forest – nearly 600 acres! The giants hovering protectively overhead surely would scoop me up with their wooden limbs if any harm were threatened.
*Sliding Pond is Brooklynese for Slide
But there was one special tree that stole my heart, and it was not in the park! My Great Uncle Sammy, a pharmacist, was one of our immigrant family’s more prosperous members, and as such, lived in an actual house. In the backyard, muscled and handsome, stood my Beloved: a perfect apple tree. Like most thoughts of long-ago times, the memories are probably shinier than the actuality. Still, to this day when I smell apple or see the gnarled branches and tender blooms of the species, I feel a pure and innocent joy akin to first infatuation.
I confess. There have been other tree-loves. Later, there was the majestic maple behind our first house. Under the canopy of those sun-dappled leaves, I played for hours, digging a hole to China, waiting for “money-tree” seeds to bloom in dollars, and eventually burying my beloved Harry the Canary in a play dough can.
As a teenager, the “elephant tree” on the local college campus called when adolescent angst raged. My friends and I would ride our bikes three miles to escape and hide with our books and bad attitudes. Its thick, grey boughs were so easy to climb, and comfortable for lounging. This boyfriend was one of those husky fellows with acned knots and a “great personality.”
With apologies to my husband, my love affairs with trees have continued for decades, deepening my appreciation and eventually my understanding of how they contribute to the well-being of us all – not just me. Now, my tree obsession and study of the Climate Crisis encompass certain adult realities:
· Half of the earth’s forests are now gone due to logging and clearing for agriculture and other commerce – and unimaginably, without intervention, all forests will be gone in 100 years. (Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/)
· Deforestation and destruction of habitat leads to extinction of wildlife, increases in greenhouse gases (climate warming), and soil erosion – all threatening the sustainability of humans and wildlife through loss of food and livable land. (Source: https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-degradation)
· FOREST PROTECTION and REFORESTATION are recommended among the 100 solutions to the Climate Crisis being urgently pursued (and needing more activism!) by Project Drawdown (Source: https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/forest-protection)
I know many people share my ardor for trees – for wildlife, for nature, for all living things. But do we see ourselves as part of the ecosystem? Are we standing on the sidelines viewing the world or do we recognize our interdependence – that threats to one form of life is a threat to all forms of life – including humans?
When we “Make Peace Personal” we must Make Peace with Our Planet, otherwise we need to own the fact that environmental degradation is self-destruction.
Yes, my first true love was a tree. That love is sacred and deserves to be protected.
In addition to the links above, we recommend:
The Overstory by Richard Powers – According to author Ann Patchett: "The best novel ever written about trees, and really just one of the best novels, period." We loved it!
Support and Get involved in Tree Reforestation:
https://tree-nation.com/projects (A list of projects all across the globe)
https://habitatrecovery.org/ (A successful habitat recovery and reforestation model you can bring to your community)
https://www.nature.org/en-us/ (The Nature Conservancy – many ways to get involved in protecting and restoring nature)
One last tribute…
Trees
BY JOYCE KILMER
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
