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Day 30: Phew I did it!
I’ll be honest, there were a few times over the course of the month where I thought, am I going to be able to do this? It wasn’t the tree planting that I had been concerned with; it was making sure that I had all the permits set, all the arrangements made with each location, the right tree, and the ability to get the tree where it needed to go. Well, with the help of KIB (in particular Andrew Hart who spent countless hours helping me through this) I did it. Sometime in the next week I’ll write a blog that recaps the months and on Monday morning at 9 AM I will be on Indy Style TV again, but for now a recap of day 30.
What a cool place I got to go today. It was the only planting where there was a bear watching as I dug the hole. I was at the Indianapolis Zoo! The tree I planted was a Spice Bush (Lindera benzoin) right outside the Bat House and down the path the brown bear. For my last planting I had the help of Maureen, Linda Broadfoot, and a ton of help from Lori Roddell from the Zoo. Lori taught me how to throw a spade to break up the ground. It was much more effective than the pick-axe would have been, there would have been no way I could have effectively used it with another tree overhead. Now, when I go and see the animals at the zoo, I will always have to stop by and visit #30!
After the planting a felt a great deal of satisfaction and relief. To celebrate, Maureen and I walked around the zoo. We saw monkeys, tigers, otters, a Polar Bear, sharks, penguin, sea lions, and a dolphin. The Polar Bear is often a symbol of global warming. As I was looking at the Zoo’s Polar Bear, I thought about my trees. I know there are people out there that debate global warming. I’ll be honest, I don’t understand the debate. It seems the world of science is pretty united on the global warming front. Okay, I digressed, even if you want to debate global warming, there truth is we are doing lots of harm to our planet and the environment. We are reducing and eradicating the natural habitat of animals around the world. All of this was a great reminder of how important trees are.
At the end of the month I am relieved, but also happy. For the rest of my life, I am going to be able drive around Indianapolis and visit these trees and see them grown tall and wide. It is a small legacy that I will be leaving behind for the city and something that just makes me feel really good.
