Tuesday, February 14, 2017

A Valentine for Those Who Love Trees



Getting To The 💗  Of What Drove Us to Do This Work 


I hope you will indulge me in taking some time to go back to the basics, and look at the feel good mission of this work in engaging students in Schoolyard field investigations.  In seeking the images that most inspire me about this work, I wanted to create something simple to share with you all in hopes that somehow it  can express the heart of all this work we do.  Knowing that you all share a love of trees or at least are all contributing to cultivating a love of trees in the over 3,000 students participating in our ecology projects this year, my daughter and I made this Tree Love image with the Pileated Woodpecker and Gray Squirrel  especially for you all. Mega gratitude to all of you who make up this very large team of folks contributing to our Schoolyard Ecology projects.  


Fifth Grader, Lillian Maxwell from the Petersham Center School designed the image above as a poster for the statewide Arbor Day poster contest. Some of you might recognize it from a previous blog.  It fit so well into my Love of Trees theme, I had  to include it here.  



When asked at school last year to think of one special place to evoke in 3- D, my daughter chose to create a sculpture of the Sugar Maple tree that holds her swing in our backyard.  
  

I  wonder  what forms the love for trees that your students or other children in your life are developing is taking? 

What forms is your own love of trees taking?  Please send me any images or words that show this.


Related Links:  

Books about Trees Worth Sharing with kids all of all ages:


The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

There is also an  animated film version of this story, worth seeing. 

 

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein











Witness Tree by Seattle Times Reporter and Harvard Forest Bullard, Lynda Mapes.  Soon to be Published

Mostly for secondary school students and adults.