corylus colurna
'The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time to plant a tree is today.' African proverb.
I've adopted a tree. A Turkish Hazel. It was planted, earlier this year, in the grass verge opposite my house. It took me a couple of months to notice that there was a QR code attached to the metal cage surrounding the tree, protecting it from the wind and, more probably, drunken vandal damage. I scanned the code with my phone, something I've never done before without adult supervision. It took me to a dedicated website that told me the tree's story; age, seasonal appearance, prospective height/width etc and where I also found a plea for assistance. Would I help this tree by agreeing to water it? If so, it would need 20 litres of water a week throughout the growing season (March-Oct). This seemed like quite a responsibility, for one as distracted as me, who struggles sometimes to keep myself fed and watered, but after only a short period of reflection (less than the time it took me to walk the two minutes back home) I decided I would agree to take on this task - I plan on getting a cat, at some point in the not too distant future, and thought doing this might afford me some practice in becoming responsible for the health and wellbeing of another living entity. Also, if I signed up to the task, my name would appear beside a picture of said tree, on said website, and I would be pronounced, for all the world to see, as this tree's Champion. I knew, deep down, that this should be all about the future needs of the tree, or Hazel, as she's now known to me and my circle, but who could turn down such an offer? I've never been an acknowledged Champion of anything, certainly not so publicly, and I needed this badge of honour for my own fragile sense of self.
'One generation plants the trees, and another gets the shade.' Chinese proverb.
It's going well. I adopted Hazel, and have been watering her for last few months. She's still alive, and thriving. This responsibility has given me a great sense of wellbeing. Trees are immensely important to the survival of all of us, not to be too dramatic about it but it's true. They combat pollution, and global warming, and they pump out oxygen. Plus, they pretty up the world. The sight of a tree is very good for my soul, sitting under a tree, in the shade of its leaves and branches, calms my anxiety. So by looking after Hazel I'm doing good, both for my own self, and for the environment.
I believe that one of the most worthwhile things one can do is to plant a tree. I have had the privilege, a couple of times in my life, to help plant a tree, and I always think proudly about those occasions, how good I felt about what I was doing. Two of those trees I see regularly, they are doing well. The first I ever planted will have been growing in that spot for 45 years. It's beside an old mill, near a river, and it'll have grown pretty tall by now, I imagine.
I've requested that my ashes be scattered in the woods, or in a forest somewhere, after I've died and been cremated. I have no specific location in mind, just somewhere green and leafy, where there are trees that will feed on the potassium in my remains, and where my spirit can rest in peace.
'A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.' Greek proverb.
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