I received an invitation from 350 to make a Tree Sign for Earth Day. It took me a while, but I finally made one!
This Earth Day project “Tree Speech,” engages people in honoring the trees in our neighborhoods, by making simple signs that appear as if held by the tree itself. The signs offer messages that individual trees have to tell us about themselves and their many gifts. Hopefully, as we actively engage with these magnificent beings, messages will emerge as we sit at the foot of trees, or perhaps climb them. In Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass, she lyrically demonstrates “… that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world.”
We invite you to consider the trees in your yard and your neighborhood. Or choose a tree along the sidewalk as you walk through the neighborhood. We encourage you to name them, learn about them and call them by their names. Sit beneath them and imagine what they would tell you about this earth that we share. Many of them have been here far longer than we have, and will last beyond our lifetimes. What’s up with trees … in the canopy and beyond? What’s going on with them down below the earth? Who depends on them and who are their best friends? What would they tell you about what they’ve seen and felt and heard? How do they express themselves? How do they interact with the rest of the natural world? If you wonder long enough, you may discover their needs and desires.You may discover what you can do to care for and protect this tree and its kin. We are all connected.
Instructions:
Choose a tree(s) and take time to listen to the tree. You might give your tree a name, learn facts, have a conversation... sitting, imagining what they would tell you about this earth that we share. Let the tree speak on the SIGN you make.
MOUNT ON TREE
Use bicycle inner tubes or t-shirt strips cut long enough to tie onto your tree!
Make slits in the back of SIGN to run ties through and secure to the tree.
Or staple ties onto board back, etc.
If you speak for a City Street Tree, check with the adjacent residents for OK to hang the SIGN. Invite them to hang other SIGNs
TAKE A PHOTO of You+Your Tree+Your SIGN. Send to info@350Eugene.org and post to your social media accounts with #TreeSpeech.
Here is the invitation:
“... For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth ...” Elizabeth Gilbert
We invite you to consider the trees in your yard and your neighborhood. Or choose a tree along the sidewalk as you walk through the neighborhood. We encourage you to name them, learn about them and call them by their names. Sit beneath them and imagine what they would tell you about this earth that we share. Many of them have been here far longer than we have, and will last beyond our lifetimes. What’s up with trees … in the canopy and beyond? What’s going on with them down below the earth? Who depends on them and who are their best friends? What would they tell you about what they’ve seen and felt and heard? How do they express themselves? How do they interact with the rest of the natural world? If you wonder long enough, you may discover their needs and desires.You may discover what you can do to care for and protect this tree and its kin. We are all connected.
Instructions:
Choose a tree(s) and take time to listen to the tree. You might give your tree a name, learn facts, have a conversation... sitting, imagining what they would tell you about this earth that we share. Let the tree speak on the SIGN you make.
Create a SIGN with twig hands that make it appear as if the SIGN is held by the tree itself.
MATERIALS Use Recycled if available:
Cut SIGN to size & shape Coat with paint, let dry.
Lightly sketch in words, design
Then use permanent markers or acrylic paint, picture cutouts or stickers etc on the SIGN
Use twigs to make SIGN fingers. Break or cut with garden clippers.
Attach twigs with wood glue or use wire or twist ties thru holes punched in cardboard by an awl or a nail.
MATERIALS Use Recycled if available:
- Heavy cardboard, a board, pizza box round, scrap wood, etc
- utility knife
- duct tape
- Strips of bicycle inner tubes or woven fabric strips length diameter of tree
- (optional) a titch of house paint
- markers, acrylic paints // etc
Cut SIGN to size & shape Coat with paint, let dry.
Lightly sketch in words, design
Then use permanent markers or acrylic paint, picture cutouts or stickers etc on the SIGN
Use twigs to make SIGN fingers. Break or cut with garden clippers.
Attach twigs with wood glue or use wire or twist ties thru holes punched in cardboard by an awl or a nail.
MOUNT ON TREE Use bicycle inner tubes or t-shirt strips cut long enough to tie onto your tree!
Make slits in the back of SIGN to run ties through and secure to the tree.
Or staple ties onto board back, etc.
If you speak for a City Street Tree, check with the adjacent residents for OK to hang the SIGN. Invite them to hang other SIGNs
TAKE A PHOTO of You+Your Tree+Your SIGN. Send to info@350Eugene.org and post to your social media accounts with #TreeSpeech.
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