Translated material
The dearest mubbles
What letters Australians write to trees
In 2013, the Melbourne authorities issued each tree in the city at a unique identifier and their own email address. It was assumed that the townspeople in this way will be able to quickly report the problems that arose with one or another tree.
But the inhabitants of Melbourne began to write letters to trees. Real. Someone admired their beauty, someone confessed to them love, and someone discussed politics. Moreover, some of the written trees even answered.
The city authorities shared with the publication of The Atlantic some of these letters and allowed to publish anonymous excerpts from them.
February 2015 (in Australia - the height of summer). The Algerian oak receives a letter with gratitude for the fact that it is: “Thanks for the oxygen. Thanks for the fact that you are so beautiful. I don’t know where I would be if you were not processing my carbon dioxide (probably in paradise). ”
The author of the letter complains that there was no time in his educational institution to talk about the wild, and hopes that once the world around him will become a priority topic.
Another letter addressed to the tree begins with the words "my dearest bastard." Its author says that he was struck - not a branch, but the radiant beauty of the elm, standing near the college of St. Mary. “You must constantly receive such messages. You are such an attractive tree, ”the author writes.
To: golden elm
May 21, 2015
I'm so sorry that you will die soon. I am sad when the trucks hurt your low hanging branches. Are you tired of this construction too?
The same confusion also received the following confession: “Dear 1037148. You deserve to be called not only by number. I love you. Always and forever. "
Melbourne trees receive letters not only from the Australians and not only from people. One of the oaks was written by a 350-year-old colleague from a farm in the state of Mississippi, the USA. “I am about 25 meters in height, and my trunk is about five meters in a girth. I have not been traveling a lot (in fact, I have not moved since the time when I was acorn). I just stand and provide housing to local birds and proteins. Good day for you. "
Some Melbourne trees even write response letters to their fans. One of the local residents (named F.) wrote that he was waiting for exams, and the elm standing next to the college does not - because he is a tree. The author of the letter was rather tactless, saying that they had little in common, so they are unlikely to find many topics for conversation.
Vyaz support his comrade:
Hi, F.
I hope you can handle your exams. Studies have shown that nature can positively affect how people study. So I hope to inspire you to study.
With the best wishes, knit.
L. asked Nicholi Eucalyptus, how to contact him - Mr. or Mrs.? And does the trees have a floor? In response, L. received a rather detailed letter with explanations:
I am not Mr. and not Mrs., since I have flowers of both sexes - this term is called “Singleness”. Individuals of some species of trees can only have men's or only female flowers and therefore they have a floor - the term for this is called “dioecious”. On other trees, the same individuals can have both male and female flowers at the same time. It is amazing and confusing how different and complex trees can be.
Sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. Eucalyptic Nicoli (the same tree)
Finally, the Western Red Cedar received a letter about politics. In early July, he asked him how he relates to the victims of the crisis in Greece and whether he believes that the Greeks should remain as part of the European Union.
The author of the letter signed as “Troy”, to which the tree drew attention to: “I remember, once the Greeks equalized you with the Earth. Are you still angry? " From a direct answer to the question, however, the cedar left, bringing several positions and summing up: “I do not know. But I'm just a tree. "
The Service of the Belowburne in Melbourne is included in a long list of municipal projects that effectively use personal and institutional technologies for the benefit of cities. In Chicago there is a tracker of road pits. And in the gonolulo you can adopt the siren notifying the tsunami (English).