Nurturing Tree Shadows

March 31, 2010 and April 7, 2010

Lubbock Lake Landmark

To my great delight, we spent these two class periods planting trees. 

When Dr. T described the project to us, I imagined tiny plants and trowels. But these were Texas sized baby trees--between 3 and 5 feet tall (only my estimation). No trowels. Shovels and pick axes. 

We were given a map marked with stars where trees would be planted. 22 Soapberry and Hackberry trees, plants well-suited to Lubbock weather. In two class periods, we planted all of them.

I love manual labor. I'm a thinker by nature, so physical work is highly therapeutic for me; my mind can relax and blend with the motion of my body. I feel whole and happy. After a while of watching to make sure I understood the process, I took up a shovel and relished the feeling of lifting the earth. I am small and dehydrate easily, but I still worked to some of my heart's content. I was so happy sweating in the afternoon sun.

The method: tree locations were marked by yellow flags labeled "soap" or "hack." The places were chosen based on the location of archeological sites (which cannot be disturbed), the location along the walking trail, and the location of other trees; some trees would later provide shade and aesthetic value along the trail, and others were planted so that they were well spread out.

After a flag was spotted, a group dug a hole large enough to accommodate the roots of the tree. The tree was then placed inside and blanketed with the same dirt that previously occupied the hole (this is actually better for the tree than using a different soil from another source). We then made a raised ring of dirt on the outside so that the tree would collect as much water as possible when it rained. All plants need to be watered faithfully when they are first planted, so the LLL team soaked each tree immediately after. We learned they would continue to water the trees this way for the first year.

I loved this project. I could have happily kept doing that for the whole semester. I love digging, and I love nurturing new life. Riding on the LLL trailer from tree to tree, bouncing with the bumps of the road, I dreamed about creating a garden someday. I'm lucky to have a teacher who knows a great deal about that; someday I'll be looking through her blog and really get to dig to my heart's content.

And of course, in 20 years, I'll be coming back to LLL to say hello to the trees I helped plant and admire their beautiful shadows.