Speak for the Trees

Speak for the Trees

My neighborhood is about 45 years old. The garden plantings that were once mere twigs are now full-grown, often overgrown, bushes. The trees, especially, have grown in height and stature. A variety of species were planted on the strips of grass near the curbs to provide shade along the sidewalks, a welcome benefit during the hot summer days.

As the years pass, however, the trees are having trouble. Their roots are struggling for space to expand. Many sidewalks are now a mixture of gray and white concrete patches applied to the sidewalks to repair cracked cement where the tree roots have forced their way outward. Sometimes the trees expand over the cement squares, demonstrating a will to grow regardless of the circumstances surrounding them. Others send roots underneath the sidewalk squares, raising the cement blocks as they reach toward the expanse of the lawn.

We labeled this tree’s break for freedom The Step. It used to be a little glitch in the sidewalk; now it is several inches up, demanding care when we walk. I wonder how much more the cement will be raised. Will the homeowner take action and cut the roots so the concrete block can be lowered? Will that harm the tree?

Planting trees with limited growing space seemed like a good idea in the beginning but it stunted the plants’ growth. Many houses now have no shaded frontage because the trees have died, way earlier than their designated lifespan would indicate. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax  speaks for the trees; we could have used him when the houses were being constructed. Trees are an important and valuable asset to our communities but their needs should be considered, too.

Sometimes we forget that our actions have long-term effects. It is hard to fully anticipate what might happen decades down the road, whether in regard to nature or politics or health, but if we take the time to look beyond what seems like an immediate benefit to the possible later results, perhaps we could spare ourselves some angst – and the trees a shortened life.

Want to know how long trees can live?

http://bigtree.cnre.vt.edu/TreeAge.htm

Tree Down

Tree Down

Trees are lovely assets to any community. They provide shade in the hot weather. They offer shelter to squirrels and birds. They come in a great variety, which adds interest to the landscape, and their height graces their surroundings with dignity. Yet we hardly think about what they offer, until they fall.  

One day this past week, a tree along a busy street came down, the result of a raging, gusty wind that swept through South Jersey. The trunk reached out from the curb’s edge and stretched across the sidewalk and over the homeowner’s front lawn, spreading its branches onto the shingled roof of the house. Every driver that passed by stopped; it wasn’t something to ignore.

This was not the only tree to fall. Others landed on houses and cars, took down power lines and left families without electricity. 

What made me pay particular attention to this tree, besides the fall itself, was how it was uprooted. The curb was undisturbed. There were hardly any roots extending from the trunk and the roots that were visible on the bottom were small and shallow, seemingly incapable of holding up such a large structure. You could not tell from looking at the tree that it had no firm foundation. How could it have developed a strong, expansive root system hemmed in, as it were, by cement?

In retrospect, it was surprising that it had remained upright for as long as it did. But there is strength built into the genetic code of the tree, even if we can’t see it. And there is strength inherent in the human code, as well. Trees and people start small yet given the right environment in which to grow, they become powerful. And that strength can overcome obstacles, seen and unseen.

The tree held on as long as it possibly could, given the surrounding conditions. I admire that, as I admire and appreciate the tenacity of people surviving, and often thriving, despite difficult circumstances. Strength is not always visible on the outside but it exists in all of us, to be respected and valued and remembered when it is gone.

For more of the story, written by Carol Comegno for the Courier-Post, and more photos:  

http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20130201/NEWS01/302010038/Strong-gusts-down-trees-utility-lines-throughout-S-J-