Posted in Sustainability

What is Sustainable?

A tree is sustainable. We need to plant three BILLION by 2050 in the UK alone to combat Climate Crisis. Almost every area will have people who can help you plant trees, a tree for you to plant and an area to plant it in – but planting is only the first step. Trees have to be nurtured like any other plant, and watered and fed and checked on until the are old enough to survive alone. Trees are wonderful things – so here’s a poem about one!

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A Tree

 

A small tree seed falls in the soil

bursts open, swells, a shoot uncoils

 

its journey to the sky begun

a leaf unfurls, turns in the sun

 

to gratify its appetite

it eats earth’s food, drinks rain and light

 

shapes skin of bark, and wood as bone,

green clothes of leaves, and when it’s grown

 

then it gives back; it starts to bear

nut, blossom, fruit, its breath cleans air

 

its branches are a music hall

and home for souls that creep and crawl

 

a swing for squirrel acrobats

a perch for birds, a roost for bats

 

its life, green loveliness from birth

its death gifts goodness back to earth

 

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© Liz Brownlee

 

See if you can find a way to plant a tree, or several trees. The Woodland Trust is a good place to start asking.

Beautiful tree image by Marvin Foushee on Flikr, by CC license.

 

Author:

Award-Wining Children's Poet, Author, Wildlife and Climate enthusiast, NPD Ambassador, blogger and owner of Lola the retired alert dog and Paddy the alert dog in training. Books include CLiPPA shortlisted Being Me, Poems about Thoughts, Worries and Feelings, Editor of Shaping the World, Author of Be the Change, Apes to Zebras, The Same Inside, Reaching the Stars and Animal Magic. I visit schools, libraries, literary festivals via Zoom and give lessons on writing poetry for children. http://www.poetryroundabout.com http://www.lizbrownleepoet.com @LizBrownlee@zirk.us @Lizpoet

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