Tree people

To casual viewers looking at the photo below, they could be forgiven for saying: “Whats the big deal? Just a few shrubs of different sizes.”

May I say:

“The fog of ones ignorance disappears as one takes the time to become familiar with each shrubs story. With understanding, even a modicum of understanding, the potential of compassion, care and love becomes more real.”

These “shrubs” are actually an endangered pine and have been planted to help in the longevity of their species.

They also stand as sentinels around an eternal flame dedicated to world peace. Nine represent the guardians of the future and four of the them represent the past.

The Peace Fire at Windgrove, initially called the Childrens Grove, is ringed with a single species of pine native to Tasmania: “South Esk River Pine (Callitris Oblonga), a tall shrub or small tree 3 to 4 meters tall (13 feet) with bluish foliage. Dense compact form. Hardy.”

Or so said the plastic tag identifying this tree from all the others at the nursery.

But only “hardy” if given a habitat to grow in.

When I planted the first seven trees seven years ago to commemorate the births of six girls and one boy, I had actually never seen a mature specimen of South Esk pine in the wild or elsewhere. I only knew from a visiting botanist that this particular pine was one of the most endangered pines in the world because its very small native habitat in north east Tasmania was being lost to clear felling, farming and other “land improvements”.

To survive, it needed to be propagated elsewhere. Hence, my choice of the South Esk pine for the Childrens Grove.

Yesterday, I planted out four more along the circumference of the existing circle. Paid for with a donation of money and a request from a woman visiting from Amsterdam who desired to have a grandmother tree planted next to her granddaughter Isabella (one of the babies of seven years ago). The amount of money given was enough to purchase four trees, so I planted two on either side of the designated granddaughter tree thereby allowing all four of her grandparents to be with her. They might be smaller than she is at present, but I would think this particular granddaughter tree is feeling rather lucky.

Shall we go back to the original sentence: “So, whats the big deal?”