The Tree Path
The Tree Path
" ... create a culture of wanting to care."
Common Ground's quest is to create a culture of wanting to care. Statutory protection is no substitute for local understanding and pride. Profound local knowledge linking together with tumbleweed professional expertise is a powerful force. But more discussion, more involvement, more time is needed from both sides.
Attachment to place can be severed by insensitive change. Local vigilance and active care are easily bruised if not murdered by scientific ramraiding - add knowledge to the place, don't take it away. We have to do better in our engagement with people and their trees. We need to lift our humanity and imagination and build the importance of trees, ancient and young, into the everyday workings of places.
Trees, our mute companions,
looming through the winter mist
from the side of the road,
lit for a moment in passing
by the car's headlamps:
ash and oak, chestnut and yew;
witnesses, huge mild beings
who suffer the consequence
of sharing our planet and cannot
move away from any evil
we subject them to,
whose silent absolution hides
the scars of our sins, who always
forgive yet still assume
the attributes of judges, not victims.Ruth Fainlight, Trees
from Trees be Company
References
Angela King & Sue Clifford (Eds) Trees be Company an anthology of poetry, Green Books 2001
The Common Ground Book of Orchards Common Ground 2000
Tree Dressing Day Times and News Common Ground various dates
ABC Leaflet Common Ground 2002
The Apple Broadcast Common Ground 1994
The Apple Map Common Ground 1992
