Talking to Trees

I just read about a fascinating phenomenon in Melbourne, Australia. The city council was concerned about the fate of their trees as a result of drought. By 2009, they found that 40 percent of their 77,000 trees were struggling or dying. They decided to map all the trees in the city and give them an individual tree ID. Then they made it possible for the public to interact with the trees digitally so people could let the city know what trees needed attention. What happened was people began sending personal messages to the trees. About 3,000 emails have been sent to individual trees in the last two years. One person wrote, "As I was leaving St Mary's College today I was struck, not by a branch, but by your radiant beauty. You must get these messages all the time. You're such an attractive tree.” They began talking to the trees as if they were human. Some messages were funny, some nostalgic, many heartfelt. The council is now planting more trees to lower Melbourne’s extreme summer temperatures as well as help its citizens breathe more easily.
I found it amazing how much people cared about their trees. Three cheers for such an environmentally conscious city council. Maybe other cities could try such a project. I guess if people talk to their plants, they can also talk to their trees. And our cities would be more beautiful and healthy.     

Common ash tree

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