How and why to plant a tree ?

An peasant in the city

Until now I've been writing here as a personal journal. Somewhere to introduce myself and share feelings, thoughts and bias;

Though, it's now time to talk about the projects I'm working on here in Thessaloniki.

Garden of a PolÍchni primary school in Karatazou park | credit : Balance_Rng

Esai en Roi is a self called umbrella organization. Gathering water to irrigate efficiently smaller associations. For now I trust this process. It provide material and drafting support. Makes connection between the different actors ( schools, municipality, volunteers, association, professionals...) so they can match more easily and eventually create social, environmental, cultural, and so, political (city organization ) changes.

I'm meant to work on the ecological branch. As a gardener, environment animator and, if supported by the government and municipal representatives, participate a trees planting project with Karatasoupark.org.

So now let's talk about how and why to plant a tree.

Systemic and economic struggle to chose ecology

This is not a easy project to be brought to life. Not because it's expensive. Nor because it's too much hard work to plant trees. Not even because cities are no place for rooted plants. There are many with huge tree's shadow to support summer sun, parks to enjoy grassy spaces to rest and gather, and even in some, kitchen garden to appreciate the privilege of grown your own succulent food.

Rue du Maréchal Oudinot, pedestrians may walk under tree's shadow.  Photo ER /Frédéric MERCENIER

The complexity reside in the cities space availability. Always a matter of space. Here space have more value then gold. Everyone sees cities "empty" space has non-productive space we should optimize. If there is no residence, there is no more inhabitant nor rent. If there is no hospital, residents of the neighborhood have problems receiving care, and so, no care bills. No parking... you get the point.

Choices have to be made. Politics have to be thought and discuss. I have no college degree nor third sight aptitude to declare what need to be done in our Karatazou park case.

I will however speak about what I've seen and read on eco-architecture and ecological transformation projects so we may think a bit more on what can be done.

Benefits and symbiosis

I think every occasion must be taken to use non-occupied land as Nature spaces. We are living the sixth mass extinction and I see no benefit to think and act like everything already doomed for us and the future generations. And because there are future generations we have the morale obligation not to be defeatist when it come to take political decision. We own them a breathable air and fertile soil to live in. There is no infinite ways to do it. We have to plant, to regenerate and to care what and how we built for. Not only in country-side but in our cities too. There is more human in cities than in rural areas (45% rural inhabitant in the world and 80% in Greece : Source: World Bank staff estimates using the United Nations World Population Urbanization Outlook).

This is the main reason why I came here in Thessaloniki. I believe we don't only need change in the campaign but we have to introduce systemics changes in cities if we want to change world mindset about how we habit the planet.

Phyllomedusa tomopterna - Not the one found in Tena, just my favorite | credit: Balance-Rng

Again, I'll talk about space. We must left space so biodiversity may dig its path in our life's. Nature hate the void. Were we see an empty space is were hide the biodiversity we desperately need to protect so we don't live in some cyberpunk dystopia. ( I really do love the genre, go read Gunnm ! )

In the Ecuadorian city of Tena, at the est entrance of the Amazonian rain forest, students of the IKIAM university found a specific frog that we thought had disappear.

The article

I see that if we leave space so life can exist, and open our eyes to see it, we may experiment the miracle we expect. No big deal, just modesty and curiosity.

It's nothing but philosophic

This said, I'd like to introduce an another perspective.

We obviously do need houses and hospitals in cities. But those projects takes time. A lot of time. Often years. Maybe they never gonna exist because of economical unstability. In the mean time why don't we take the laps in between to grow gardens were we can enjoy grassy space and medicinal food under tree's shadow ? Why don't we use those spaces to educated our children about Nature respect and healthy/sustainable alimentation ? This can't be no arm for us. Not to do anything because we are not sure what's gonna happen next is foolish and lazy. We now what's happening. Let's be reasonable. Let's plant and cultivate so maybe our descendant might live in a more peaceful era than we do.

Even if I sound like it, or maybe not, I'm not optimistic or naive. I'm not talking about any utopia. I actually I'm angry and demotivate most of the time. Our blindness is our shame. We do have to endure an oppressive capitalist system but it's our responsibility to take a step aside so we see all the opportunities we have to emancipate. I won't say it's easy because it is not. Like waking up after a drunk night to go see your grandparents. We are drunk and asleep. Time to get up from our technological cocoon we buried in. To face the youngest, as fuzzy we might be, without so much shame about the world state we accept to live on so our hands remain soft and our new clothes without sweat. I'm writing this and you read it on a screen so we still have a long path to take so we reach the top mountain of our inner, cerebral and work freedom.

There is a fear when you want to talk about ecology and digital issues. You don't want to be eared like a backseat driver or sermonizer. But this is what it is all about. We have to work against ourself out of this cocoon. To get out our technological mom belly so we can take our first painful breath that makes us alive and human.

To get educated is no sweet in the beginning. To learn how to read is hard work and perseverance. But what is the advantage of not being able to read ? If you can't read you'll have to trust everything the other's said is written in the book. And it will take many books to be able to criticize was written in it. To educate yourself is to earn your freedom. To educate our children, implicate environment lessons in green spaces to experiment, is to give them the opportunity to decide which world they prefer to live on.

Capitalism isn't an unsurpassable horizon. It may just take to think about it under the tree the precedent generations planted.

Unknown amazonian spider ( Micrathena ? ) | credit: Balance_Rng

Balance_Rng writing for Artivia's magazine