The Power of Planting a Tree
The youth climate strike in NYC was well attended, being a long time activist I’ve marched in many permitted parades before. They are inspiring and the numbers of people in the street make you believe that maybe this time people will wake up and stay involved. I still wonder if marches have the power to create any meaningful change.
Perhaps this one will be different. Because a few of us were disobedient. We didn’t climb high and drop a banner for all to see. Instead we dug a deep hole and planted a plum tree. Here’s how it went down.
I smiled when I spotted a pack of XR-NYC pals rolling a good sized tree in a stroller into Battery Park. It was adorned with signs and the XR logo. I was thrilled to discover they had brought hand trowels and even a big shovel disguised as sign. The plan was to do some guerrilla gardening in plain sight.
Quickly the small band of rebels conducted an on the spot meeting and came up with a plan. After a short scouting session, a location was agreed upon and off we went.
This was a day for youth climate action. Which meant we knew we must step back and empower younger activists to step up. It was decided that young people would plant this tree and we would hold the space and create the the opportunity for that to happen.
We made a tight circle and created a secret circle, rounded up some young gardeners and started to dig. Many hands make quick work, before we knew it, a nice 2 foot hole was dug, big enough for the plum tree to fit comfortably.
The tree was liberated from it’s container in the stroller and gently placed in the hole. Loud joyful roars filled that part of the park but were muffled by the Jayden Smith’s performance not far away.
Word got out about our little tree project and kids from all over lined up to scoop soil into the hole and to feed the tree with water. It brought me to tears to witness this act of love and reverence for the plum tree named “Spark”. The hashtag #treesforthefuture has taken on a life of it’s own.
A party for the new tree continued long into the night after Greta’s speech had finished and most had left the park. It was a celebration for the life of this tree. I sleep better at night knowing that at least 20 or more kids had a direct connection with planting that beautiful plum tree named Spark who now lives in Battery Park.
Disobedient gardening is a useful tactic that needs to be replicated everywhere. This is a great activity for all XR neighborhood groups to take on. Get your hands dirty.
CHANGE THE WORLD! PLANT A TREE!
