(2) trees have been killed out of the (7) we planted on December 10th, 2011. Am I upset? Yes- of course. Am I discouraged? Not even close. Not even if all (7) trees were damaged and killed would I stops doin’ what I’m doin’. And I’m doin’ what I’m doin’ because it has to be done. Did the people who know better tell me to plant bigger tree? Yes- they did. Would I have done this differently if I could have? I’m not so sure. TreePeople has a system whereas they involve the community with their plantings- this is why I was ultimately drawn to them as non-profit organization. TreePeople plants 15 gallon trees (on the small side) so that people don’t get hurt planting them. On the “event day”- all sorts of people showed up and ate and planted trees together- it was a beautiful thing. No regrets. Moving forward though, I will take a decidedly different approach to tree planting.
I don’t want to speculate as to who or what did the decimating but one thing I can say is that every time I go outside to water the trees or to check on them, which is at least once a week if not more- the amount of positive feedback I get from the people on the street is enough to keep me motivated to do whatever it takes to make more trees happen here in Skid Row.
Next plan of action- replant using larger trees where possible and go from there. I called this tree planting a “project”- and that’s what it is. I will need to learn and grow and change according to the environment. Planting things is, to my mind- somewhat trial and error anyways- you win some, you lose some. I know I have lost several houseplants for reasons only mother nature knows. People come into the mix when you plant things in the public space.
One thing that I noticed on a baby tree is some new growth. Green shoots! Hope grows here on the ‘Row. This is what I live for. I hope it rains this weekend. Our trees need a shower.
Go Katherine, this is a beautiful change!