Treasuring Our Trees

On Sunday, we came together with six other area organizations to host the first of three seasonal Treasuring Our Trees events. Nearly 100 individuals and families joined us via Zoom to honor our beloved trees and our deeply felt connection to them. It was a time of song and poetry, of ritual for mourning and for celebration. And of course, it included a poem from Mary Oliver (as any tree-loving celebration should!):

When I Am Among the Trees
by Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

In case you missed Treasuring Our Trees, here is the hour-long video (passcode 2qERSJ4*). The dates for the winter and spring Treasuring Our Trees events will be released soon, so keep your eyes peeled. Until then, I invite you to consider:

How are you in relationship with trees?

In what ways do trees save you?

In return, what do you do to save trees?

Thank you to our co-sponsors from Indian Creek Nature Center, Trees Forever, Winding Pathways, Cornell College Chaplain & Spiritual Life Office, Coe College and Peoples Church—we are blessed to live in a community with so many organizations who understand the importance of our arbor-elders!

—Andi Lewis, Prairiewoods marketing coordinator

photo by Kate Tyler