Tradition and Care in a Changing Environment
Invasive species and tree removal can be a heavy man-
agement burden for urban and community forestry
programs. What if there are ways to use wood waste
while helping to sustain traditional wood carving prac-
tices? Nalu Andrade, a 2022-23 NaturePLACE Artist in
Residence based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, did just that.
Andrade hosted a series of workshops titled Carving
Out Our Future, where participants spent one day of
mālama ʻāina (caring for the land) followed by a day of
kālai (carving) to make māna ʻai, a traditional, Native
Hawaiian baby dish for their first food, carved from the
prolific and invasive strawberry guava tree (Psidium cat-
tleianum). Taking place at
restoration sites, Andrade's
workshops intertwined
efforts to restore forests
and traditional relationships
amongst people and land.
As a result of this art-
ist-science-practitioner
collaboration, new con-
nections have been made;
these can sprout into long-
term programming to both
continue community stew-
ardship of forests through the
workshops and to help re-es-
tablish native, endangered
hardwoods in the forests
for future use in traditional
carving. The State of Hawaiʻi
Urban & Community Forestry
Program created a video high-
lighting Andrade's work. >>
Gathering Community for the Trees, Birds, and Bees
Trees, birds, and bees are three diverse
groups of important and ubiquitous actors
in our urban forests that provide many
essential services for city inhabitants.
Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, artist
Richard Johnson has been participating
in the NaturePLACE program since 2022,
hosting community workshops around the
birds, bees, and trees of his home city.
Johnson's "Bee the Change" workshops
have utilized art, such as mural making, as a
bridge to engage community and teach the
public about the importance of these fellow
beings, such as the role of bees as pollina-
tors. These workshops continued through
2024, and the relationships Johnson has fos-
tered with scientists and practitioners of the
USDA Forest Service and with local organiza-
tions like ReGreen Springfield will endure.
Nalu Andrade, a 2022 NaturePLACE artist, leading a carving workshop with
youth. Image courtesy of David Maddox, The Nature of Cities.
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