“How do we become friends with a tree?”

One day

you will find

a tree standing tall

in the sun

hiding secrets

in its branches

and feel

that this tree

is special.

to you.

-Joanne Ryder, Hello, Tree

As we continue to spend a lot of time in the Arboretum with the many trees that we love and visit, we keep coming to a simple question asked by a classmate:  How do we become friends with a tree? 

We have been using a time in our day called Project Workshop to explore the ways we can get to know our tree friends in the Arboretum better.

Through observation, noticing and careful rendering through a variety of material (like paper collage, clay, paint, drawing and loose part collage), we are slowly getting to know our trees on a more personal and friendly level.