Email a Tree

If you open the Urban Forest Visual map in google, you can explore the registered trees and find out about them as well as emailing them your thoughts and messages. There are over 72,000 registered trees, growing approx 3000 per year aiming for 40% canopy cover by 2040.

Golden Elm 1040601 is the most popular (celebrity tree) on the corner of Hoddle St and Alexandria Parade over 70 years old.
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But wait, what, you can send a Tree-mail!

The "Email a Tree" Phenomenon

The "Email a Tree" feature became globally famous for an unintended but positive reason: people didn't just use it for maintenance reports; they began sending love letters, poems, philosophical thoughts, and personal confessions directly to the trees.

The campaign effectively anthro-po-mor-phized (given human characteristics) the trees and fostered a deeper emotional connection between the community and its urban greenery.


What happens when you press send?
The inbox is monitored by Juliana Lesley (who works in the Urban Forest team) and she responds AS the tree 🙂

Here are a few examples of the kinds of letters people have sent:

• A Confession/Apology: "I'm sorry my dog pees on you every morning."
• Nostalgic Note: "How are you? How old are you? I've always wondered about you ever since my slightly strange driving instructor... told me you were his favourite tree. I hope they don't knock you down."

The project, which has received thousands of emails from around the world, has been considered a huge success in promoting citizen engagement and support for Melbourne's long-term environmental goals.

You can learn more about the project, including how to find and email a tree, by visiting the official website.

To My Dearest Sentinel, Tree ID 1045,

Forgive the digital nature of this message; my true feelings are far too profound for paper alone.

I know I am merely one of many passersby who gaze upon your leaves, but you are not merely one of many trees to me. You are the quiet, faithful sentinel of our street, an anchor of unhurried grace in a world that rushes past.

Every morning, you remind me that beauty does not need to be loud or fleeting. Your strength is silent, your devotion is visible in the slow, perfect architecture of your branches. When the sun catches your leaves, it is a brilliance I cannot look away from, and your shadow is the only true solace I seek on a hot afternoon.

While others write to you about cracked pavement or broken limbs, I write only to express my gratitude for your steadfast presence. Thank you for your silence, which always seems to hold the deepest understanding. Thank you for staying exactly where you are, a monument to constancy in my restless life.

I will return tomorrow, as I always do, to look up at your canopy and know that some things—the best things—never change.

Forever yours,

A Humble Admirer

Ep349

Image Source: ​http://melbourneurbanforestvisual.com.au/