What would you say to your favorite tree?
Well, the people of Melbourne, Australia took the time to email their thoughts to some of the city’s 70,000 Eucalyptus, oaks, and elms.
It all started because city services wanted an easy way for people to report problems with trees, like dangerous branches or storm damage. Planners came up with the idea of assigning each tree its own email address — people could then easily send a local report.
But some people took the opportunity to write directly to the trees themselves, to express their adoration.
My dearest Ulmus,
As I was leaving St. Mary’s College today I was struck, not by a branch, but by your radiant beauty. You must get these messages all the time. You’re such an attractive tree.
The Atlantic monthly collected some of these “tree-mails,”…
