Tree Hugger? Yes!
Posted by Sally Malanga on Fri, Jun 11, 2010 @ 03:30 PM
In his seminal work A Geography of Human Life (1903), Tsunesaburo Makiguchi a Buddhist educator and founder of the modern buddhist organization, The SGI remarked that "...every aspect of the entire universe can be found in the small, limited area of one's home community. But we have to be sensitive to these untold riches all around us, and we must learn how to be effective observers."
After moving into my home in 1997, I did what John Muir the founder of the Sierra Club did. I jumped over my back fence to explore what was beyond my house. I soon realized that I was in a place with very large trees.
It was peaceful and inspiring. I followed a path until I came upon a bulldozer and a large pile of fill.
Alarmed, I made some calls and was referred to Bruce Kershner, the author of the Sierra Club Guide to Ancient Forests [PDF].
He drove from Buffalo, New York to survey the site, and fell in love. Here was a hidden gem, sure enough, an old growth forest, that no one knew existed until Bruce surveyed it.
There are an amazing 33 species of trees with 50 designated urban old growth from 150-250 years old. Some are taller than 99% of the trees in New Jersey.
The site was formerly owned by the Governor of NJ and Civil War General, George McClellan and it was undisturbed until now.
Unfortunately Se
ton Hall Prep School purchased the property in 1994, and intends to clearcut 1400 trees for athletic fields.
My husband, Kevin, an attorney and I decided we would do whatever it takes to save this forest.
We lined up a land use attorney, a public planner, an environmental consultant, a storm water expert along with an historian. We challenged them at the town Zoning Board.
Some hearings had relatively few people, then gradually more and more came.
We began alone in this effort to save a shred of our environment in our own town and now we expect to turn it into a worldwide issue. The planet needs all trees standing!
Even though I never put my natural beauty company on hold, I became more and more, a steady activist on the side. Speaking up sometimes made me nervous, sometimes I would wish the problem would go away on its own, which it rarely did.
I discovered that avoiding a problem made me feel worse than the feeling that I might look foolish when standing up for what I believed in. So I honed my skills as an activist. It’s worth it!
Trees cannot run away and animals cannot call 911. So we must never look away when they need us. While a tree is alive, it is silent, but when it dies unfairly, with its death, also dies a piece of us.
Until next time, call me a tree-hugger! How about you?