Trees often feel like immovable, permanent, ever-
present fixtures of daily life. While their leaves
change as the seasons do and the winter leaves
behind a temporary skeleton, it is often unimag-
inable to consider a landscape in the absence of
trees. So, when a natural disaster rips through
a community, upsetting the daily routine of
life, one of the less-considered impacts is the
barren, treeless landscape often left behind.
Initially, moving forward from a natural disaster
involves cleaning up the community needs in order
to restore water, electricity, roads, and other vital
infrastructure so that the city can operate once
again. Restoring the aesthetic environment may take
years or even decades. However, one of the most
glaring reminders of a natural disaster is the phys-
ical havoc that changes the landscape of a place.
Historic buildings are gone, parks are unusable,
and decades-old trees are destroyed. The sudden
loss of seemingly immovable objects is a constant
reminder of the trauma that occurred—and poten-
tially a roadblock to healing and moving on.
A New Hope
Planting a tree symbolizes hope for the future. It
helps us remember that the sun will rise tomorrow,
and it will be a new day. With the multitude of things
trees do for humans, planting a tree is like a pact
with the universe to deliver something in the future.
The Arbor Day Foundation, the world's largest non-
profit dedicated to planting trees, supports a vast
network of local tree planting organizations that
work tirelessly to plant trees in their communities.
They do the hard work of figuring out the best way
to plant trees that will have the highest chance
of survival. After a natural disaster, these organi-
zations, along with state forestry support, must
begin the meticulous process of coordinating res-
toration by determining how many trees, which
species, and where they can best plant the trees.
In some cases, local tree-planting organizations are
fortunate enough to work with state foresters for
their expertise and guidance when replanting in a >>
How the ADF Community
Tree Recovery
Program Can Help
Communities Heal
By Alana Tucker, Arbor Day Foundation Tree City Programs Manager
Photos Courtesy of the Arbor Day Foundation
20 CityTREES
