Today I was called to sit with these baby oak and beech trees. They asked me to think about what it is to grow in this way, surrounded by protection. I’ve been part of tree-planting projects in the past, including community orchards, so I know that the stick is to help them grow straight and the plastic is to stop deer and other animals stripping the bark. It’s not a natural state of seeding and growth for a tree, but it definitely helps them to take root. As I think about this with them they ask me to consider the fact that all of the measures we take to preserve nature are mitigating the damage we have already caused through felling and digging up the earth to suit our needs; that the planting is wholly decided by humans. They ask if this is a fair trade: life for freedom? I think this is the choice every other creature on this planet affected by humans has to make, or has forced upon them. The trees ask me to think more on this…
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