Tree and me

There is a tree in my backyard. It has always been there, protecting me from the sun so I wouldn’t get burned, offering a home to a snail or a beetle. I didn’t give it much thought - maybe because it has always been there. Until recent, when my parents told me that they wanted to cut the tree down. “It has had its day,” they said. Only when I realized the tree would disappear, I realised that it was there. Planted around the time that I was born, it now would cease to exist. The tree is indeed deteriorating. As a twenty-three year old Bolacacia, it’s in its last stage of life. Bolacacias like the one in my backyard are made by us, for us; a miniature mutation of the Acacia - it’s to fit human needs. My needs. After my parents told me the Bolacacia would soon vanish, I felt the need to conserve it.

You have increased my bond with nature.

You have let me experience the proces of impermanence.

You have made me feel aware of the temporality of objects and life.

Tree as Tree


Maybe you can’t see it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Trees are constantly communicating. The world underneath our feet is connected and communicating. Trees can distinguish their own roots from other species. They even recognise their own relatives. Perhaps it’s hard to imagine, but trees have memory. Not the same as us - humans, but they do remember.

Together, trees create an ecosystem. If the forest remains untouched, the trees can grow old. Trees support their species and sometimes even enemies, when this becomes a necessity for the ecosystem of the forest. Some trees are very important to the community and are cared for in times of sickness. A tree becomes important when it’s very well connected to the rest of the forest.

The tree that rots away gives all his water and sugar reserves to the remaining trees, and slowly vanishes. You may have heard about the phenomenon of crown shyness. It’s a very pretty sight. When the neighbour is a good friend they try to be careful with extending their branches. Such good friends are very well connected and usually die together.

The bark is like the human skin; it registers pain when peeled off or nibbled on. The leaves can send out electrical signals, like human tissue does when hurt. For us, it takes about a second to register, but for trees it takes an hour. Trees move more slowly, even when danger occurs. That doesn’t mean that they don’t know exactly what is going on in all the different parts of their body.

Tree as part of our society

The pace of the modern world seems to be ever increasing, while the world of nature is not. This is why the importance of trees is perhaps too easily overlooked. Trees are actually helping us to live a better life.

Trees and people are interconnected. Even trees in city areas. They improve the quality of life by absorbing pollution particles with their leaves. When the leaves drop to the ground, the particles go with them, removing them from the air we breathe in.  

Without trees planted on the edges of the sidewalk, you would just be in an endless stream of people. Having to keep moving forward. Now, people can actually stop, take a second to talk, eat and drink. Therefore trees diversify the possibilities of interaction. They even improve the sound by reflecting the higher waves onto their leaves.

So how could you help trees? By planting new trees, together, perhaps with your neighbour. Raise it, thoroughly care for it and you will increase the chance of the tree surviving. It is important to care more for these remarkable beings that make life for us not more pleasurable, but possible.

Dear you,

I don’t know if I should be the one to cut you down. I asked my dad but he doesn’t agree. He said; “I won’t let you mess up while doing so, not even in the name of the arts.” It is not that easy, your roots are spread throughout the whole garden. Your roots are the only part that has stayed invisible to me. A part I can still get to know about you, or at least I hope I can. I will make sure that my dad handles you with care and that our story lives on.

Goodbye my life long friend.