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Day 8: Captain Planet
So I'm not really sure where to start today. The tree I planted...the future trees I gathered...how about I start with my new nickname, Captain Planet. If you missed it, Erika Smith wrote a very entertaining article about my 30 trees in 30 days quest and likened me to Captain Planet. I had people coming up to me at work calling me Captain. People on Facebook calling me Captain. I'm not sure it is the nickname I would have chosen, but that really isn't how nicknames work (like when George on Seinfeld wanted to be called T-Bone, but ended up with Koko), but it is catchy.
What has been really interesting are the reactions I have received. I was a bit shocked by the comments posted on the Star's website, somehow my planting of trees became a political issue. I had people come up to me at work and saying, “I think it is really cool you are planting trees, but we clearly have very different political ideas.” I'm not sure how / why people perceived my planting trees to be a political statement. It is pretty simple why I'm planting trees, they provide so many benefits. In future blogs I will explore some of these benefits:
- Trees help improve our air quality. They are a very simple way to help counteract the impact that our cars and the manufacturing industry have on the air.
- Studies have shown that trees and green space can help reduce crime in a neighborhood
- Trees soak up lots of water preventing our sewers from being overwhelmed in a rain storm. This keeps the raw sewage from being spit out into our rivers.
- They are pretty and generally make people happy.
- Trees along a highway lead to safer driving.
So that was the surprising part of my day. The day had started off as planned. I met Chad Franner, the director of horticulture at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at 7 AM. He loaded my Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) up onto a cart and we drove out to the 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park to plant my tree. I was so excited to be adding to the 100 Acres! As the name applies it is 100 Acres of land on the grounds of the IMA. The land has 8 site-specific art commissions in what is one of the nation's largest museum art parks in the country.
After the planting was the best part of the day. Chad drove me around the grounds to a couple of Buckeye Trees. Unfortunately, the squirrels had beat us to the trees and eaten almost all the nuts. I did find two. I am planning on planting both of them, and starting my own trees, so this can all continue into the future.
