We reached out to the TreePeople community in search of stories that remind us what it means to feel connected with the trees around us. We were not disappointed with the amazing responses we received!

Those included a group of 4th to 8th graders at Manzanita School in Topanga. We loved these stories so much that we decided to share them with the world!

Paloma, 5th Grade:

Chirping birds, crunchy oak leaves and small plastic swing, swinging, fill my ears and head with amazing thoughts and sounds. My favorite thing just swinging until dark and it would not be possible without a tall, big monster oak tree hanging over and protecting me. When I look around the big blue sky fully covering all the corners of the outdoors I see clouds with tails, pears and cute baby bunnies filling the sky with smiles. 

Savinna, 5th Grade:

At my house there is a tree in the center of my back yard. My family and I moved there not too long ago. The tree is not very high and has a lot of branches at the bottom. I climb onto one of the branches and sit on it and read all day long. I sit there for so long I have to bring a cushion to make it more comfortable.

Lowen, 6th Grade:

A tree that I had a connection to was a tree in my backyard. It was a huge oak tree. It was a perfect climbing tree. I used to climb it all the time and talk to myself. I would eat breakfast on the weekends and play with my friends there. I imagine the tree watching us. I think it spoke to me when I was little. I loved that tree. 

Isabel, 8th Grade:

Kevin is the sycamore in Shady Oaks. Everyone loves to catch his leaves when it’s windy. One time, my class was trying to catch them and one of the leaves blew in my direction. I was sitting on the grass kind of far away and the leaf blew right to me. It landed on my lap and there must have been 15 people chasing it but it came to me, who wasn’t even chasing it. I thought that was pretty cool. 

Pearl, 6th Grade:

A tree that I felt connected to was a tree that I used to play in when I was little. It was a little tree that had pretty purple flowers. It has gotten much bigger now, like me. When I first laid eyes on the tree I was only about 4 years old. I couldn’t visit very often but now I can because we moved there. I love bringing it water so I can water it and clippers so I can trim it and give it a hairstyle. After every visit I hug it tight. I remember naming the tree sometime back but now I just call it “ My Tree” for some reason. I bond and connect with that tree so well. I love my tree!