


title. Trees Aren't Trash: A Public Art Project
date. July 15, 2018 - October 7, 2018
city. Lincoln, Nebraska
details. All across this nation, Ash trees are being decimated in the millions by the Emerald Ash Borer, a green beetle the bores into the bark of the Ash trees, thus cutting off their nutrients supply, killing the tree within 3-5 years of infestation. Municipalities across the country, including my own in Lincoln, Nebraska, have begun taking preventative care by means of removing the tree before it is infested. However, in the City of Lincoln, despite the lumber remaining completely harvestable, many of the trees are simply being extracted, mulched, and/or landfilled. This was, unfortunately, happening in my community as well -- a community in which this lumber could have been utilized in a much more mindful manner; as an increased access to lumber to provide our communities with public seating, bus shelters, and rental improvements, all of which we lacked in an adequate supply.
To raise awareness regarding this issue, during my employment at a non-profit community development organization known as South of Downtown, I began pushing what eventually became an Urban Lumber Utilization initiative within the firm. To increase awareness regarding the loss of our ash trees, as well as the various uses for the lumber, I attempted a public art awareness project. My intention was to paint the tree trunks of street trees in our neighborhood, using a blue water-based mixture, and then use chalk spray paint to stencil different uses onto the trees underneath the tagline, "This Tree Could Be...". However, once the City got word of the project, we were promptly told that, should we carry forth, the actions would be deemed illegal.
The project was, of course, postponed until further notice. Below, a story unfolds of how this project eventually came to life in a very unintended, still mildly successful manner.
After the City's disapproval, I began mapping out private Ash trees, planning to contact property owners about the initiative. In the midst of this, I was informed that my denial was simply due to lack of a permit. So I constructed an application for the project, asking the city to allow the art project to ensue. However, by this time, all of the ash trees had already been removed from our community and the effort not only would be purely symbolic but would have to take place on trees outside of the ash tree family. To make up for this loss, the project was proposed to take place on 13th street corridor, one of the busiest streets in the neighborhood seeing 13,000 commuters a day.
The Director of Parks & Recreation, Lynn Johnson, called for a meeting to discuss the project, which led to the projects approval and granting of a permit for the project to ensue, after a two-month delay. To our advantage was the story of the Lorax, a Dr. Suess character remembered for trying to save trees in his forest. His most famous quote being "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better -- it's not!" Many people in the midwest can simply identify this story by seeing the quote, "Unless...". Therefore, it was the title of our proposal, that acted as one of the reasons we were able to garner such support after first being denied acceptance of the project.
Although a great victory personally, being the creator of a publically approved project, it truly was short lived. On the day the project was set to take place, rain inhibited the project by not allowing the paint mixture to take hold on the bark. After a one week delay, it rained again, for days, with projected rain the following week. To avoid losing any further credibility within the community, we scraped the original concept, took our losses and turned to paint only one tree with youth at F Street Community Center, while spraypainting the rest of the trees with the quote, "Unless...". Below is documentation of the project outcomes.