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Writing Prompt #7: Stick in the MudAn Ecological Reading of why
Trees Dont Care
In the mindset of the ecocritic, the tree by Buchanan Tower is
an example of almost
anything but. Planted with the intent for us to aw in its looks,
humans often associate trees with
ideas of beautiful foliage, its industrial properties, and even
knowledge. The tree itself however,
is doubtfully conscious of anything of the sort and grows the
way it does, not to service us, but as
evolution has encouraged it, in the pursuit of sustenance. A
nail found in its branch, is without a
doubt another case of humans misinterpreting the trees purposeto
serve them. Its branches
stretched outwards to conduct photosynthesis through the leaves
that grow upon it, are now
improved upon, with a splinter of steel hammered into it to
provide humans with a more secure
hold. SomeonesInitials, found carved in the rough bark document
the human-centric narrative
of the being there of a visitor long gone, but tell nothing
about the tree except that it was once a
victim of vandalism. Continuing to take ownership of this tree
as their property, the maintenance
of its very life has been seemingly overtaken over by humans to
ensure it continues to meet their
needs, be it shade, imagery or wood. While unnatural to be
unable to expand its roots past the
boundaries of the planter, it is equally unnatural for trees not
to have to compete with others for
survival, as seedlings are not naturally moved from its native
soil to be isolated in a bowl of
concrete where someone deliberately waters, fertilizes and tends
to all its essential needs.
Finally, a plaque can be found at the base of the roots,
reciting the human interpretation of how
this tree came to be. While probably coming into existence when
one of hundreds of scattered
seeds took root in soil after enduring long months, maybe even
years of awaiting adequate
growing conditions, this history is not mentioned at all.
Instead the plaque tells of how an
unrelated species of primate fought amongst themselves,
excavated the young sapling, and
carried it home from its native soils like a hostage. This of
course was not the purpose for which
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the tree was intended to live out. It did not choose to
commemorate a victory it did not win, or to
honour a side it was indifferent to. A trees purpose in life is
not for humans to decide, and so it
is safe to say its purpose is not to be used as a monument to
remember the disputes between
feuding men. By dedicating this tree to an event of human
history, the trees own history is
ignored. In reality, it does not care about what our history is,
in fact, it probably does not even
know who we are. The only part of this trees primal purpose that
seems unchanged by humans
is its ability to grow rather undisturbed despite being in
unfamiliar environment (though it would
not know it itself). As the tree continues to grow like it is
nobodysbusiness, its roots have since
overgrown the commemorative plaque, rendering it nearly
unnoticeable to those whom were
intended to read it. I would like to say how this can be seen as
natures reclaiming of power, that
the tree is asserting its own history and purpose over that of
which was imposed upon it and is
taking revenge against its human oppressors, but that is
doubtful. The tree is a tree, it does not
know for what the plaque represents, and probably does not even
care how it came to be between
its roots. And so it grows around the human-centric oxidized
copper like it would any obstacle.
We may like to think of this tree in terms of the many uses it
provides us with like shade, a war
memento, something pretty to look at, potential lumber, a living
record of past climates
throughout the years, or even as a fundamental source of oxygen
that the survival of countless
species depend on. But really, the tree knows nothing of what it
does for us, cares not of what we
think of it, and would likely be indifferent if we had died to
serve it as plant food. The tree does
what it does to survive, its purpose is not to meet our needs,
it probably does not even know we
exist.
