The Solace and Strength of Memorial Trees
To plant a tree in memory of someone is to honour their legacy in a unique and poignant way. Memorial trees serve as a physical, tangible representation of a person’s time on Earth and allow them to continue to have a positive impact on the planet even after they have left it.
Due to the innumerable environmental benefits of planting trees, gifting a tree in memory of someone is also a gift to future generations. A gesture that is both deeply touching in its symbolism and extremely beneficial in its practicality, there is no better way to honour the memory of a loved one than to plant a tree memorial.
People who suffer a bereavement, and then plant a tree in memory, often describe it as a very cathartic and healing experience. The sorrow and grief felt by the passing of a loved one can be profound and overwhelming. Mourners can find themselves set adrift in a world of anguish and confusion.
One healthy, comforting way to alleviate and process that pain is to get back in touch with the simple beauty of nature and plant a tree in memory. For those who suffer a loss, it can be difficult to initially navigate the new world in which their loved one is no longer present.
The physical and practical tribute of planting a tree in memory of someone can help them make sense of their loss by translating it into something tangible, permanent and rooted in the earth. This simple act can help solidify their sorrow into something of substance that is easier to confront and comprehend.
Planting a tree in memory can also be done as a gift by someone who is not directly or most affected by a death but cares deeply for those who are. It isn’t always easy to find the best gift or tribute to console someone who is mourning. Flowers and cards can be sent, but flowers eventually wilt and cards serve a limited purpose.
This is why gifting a tree in memory is such a lasting and heart-warming act of remembrance and compassion. Memorial trees can help express and soothe a person’s grief by acting as an external symbol of the internal pain inflicted by a loved one’s passing. But they are also a symbol of the boundless joy and happiness their life brought to others.
The benefits of planting a tree in memory of someone don’t just extend to the bereft but, in truth, to everyone. Of all the ways to memorialise and honour a lost loved one, memorial trees are easily the most widely beneficial and environmentally friendly.
Planting a tree in memory gives hope to the future
The positive impacts on the planet of gifting a tree in memory are manifold. It is a tribute that is worthy of all but particularly fitting for those who were environmentally conscious or concerned with the wellbeing and future of the planet. No other memorial gift or act of remembrance is greener in its effects or more sustainable to the environment.
Gifting a tree in memory can serve the dual purpose of tackling the harmful effects of climate change along with a person’s grief. Trees have the natural ability to cleanse and improve the quality of our air. Trees remove carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and replace them with clean, pure oxygen.
This physical process can be seen as similar to the symbolic process of planting a memorial tree, which has the power to absorb a person’s pain and sorrow and help transform it into acceptance and peace. A higher number of trees planted will inevitably lead to a lower carbon economy.
This isn’t the only environmental benefit produced when you plant a tree in memory of someone. The positive effects of planting memorial trees are endless, particularly in the fight against climate change. Trees help in causing more rain to evaporate before it reaches the ground and this reduces surface runoff.
Reduced surface runoff helps reduce the amount of potentially dangerous and harmful chemicals that are transported to our waterways and pollute our systems. It also reduces the likelihood of flooding as well as the risk of soil erosion, which can severely damage the fertility and moisture of land.
Planting memorial trees can also provide shelter and sustenance to various wildlife. When you gift a tree in memory, you are also creating a home and food source for birds and animals and helping preserve and enhance our biodiversity. The physical tribute to your loved one will help ensure the survival and prosperity of countless woodland animals.
Planting a tree in memory of someone is a comforting and healing act of preserving their legacy and a practical means of ensuring our environment’s sustainability. When words fail us, the simple but powerful action of planting a memorial tree or tree of remembrance can help relieve the extraordinary and all-consuming pain left in the wake of a loved one’s passing, whether it be our own pain or the pain of another.
There is no better way of memorialising a loved one than by making such a positive and meaningful difference to the world. Planting a tree in memory will prove to be a tribute to their life that will outlive us all and continue to heal the planet long after it has healed our hearts.
Memorial trees help to sustain both the health of the environment and the memory of a loved one.
Article written by Nicholas Collender.
