Halifax Tree Project

 Walking Trees: From Leeuwarden to Montreal to Halifax

Peter Duinker, Halifax Tree Project (pnduinker@gmail.com)

December 2024

We all know that trees don’t really walk – they have no legs, but rather roots. They are, as we say, anchored in the soil. But what if, somehow, we put wheels under their soil and took them on short journeys in our localities?

Folks in Leeuwarden, a city in Friesland (northeast Netherlands), implemented a spectacular walking-trees initiative in spring and summer 2022. As reported by The Guardian:

A thousand saplings were planted in soil held in wooden boxes. Then, with wheels underneath and handles to pull, they were drawn around the city centre by volunteers. They remained in various plazas, squares, and parking lots for some days at a time, then relocated to their next venue.

Marie-Louise Gay, a Montreal-based author specializing in children’s books, was sufficiently inspired upon learning of the Bosk project that she wrote Walking Trees (Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Press, 2024). After a stroll in the local woods with her father, Lily, our heroine in this story, asks him for a tree for her birthday. She names the tree George, and soon realizes that he (it?) needs more air and light than available in their apartment. She puts the tree in her wagon and pulls him into the street. After a bit of ribbing from her playmates, soon they all want trees too. One lad doesn’t have a wagon so he puts his tree on his skateboard. The “walking trees” provide shade and pleasant surroundings for diverse people trying to enjoy the outdoors in the hot summer streetscapes.

Onward to Halifax. Author Gay was courted for an appearance at the AfterWords Literary Festival held annually in early November. Gay’s agent suggested that she (Gay) would be much more likely to accept the invitation if there were some way to bring her book to life. Festival Co-Executive Director Stephanie Domet agreed with the idea and sought assistance within her orbit of associates. She eventually found me through my daughter Oriana (Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Writers’ Federation), and we went to work.

The first task was to secure a place to plant the trees after the parade. Sean Street, Horticulture Supervisor for the Halifax Public Gardens, heartily agreed with the idea of planting some saplings in the Gardens. Sean chose the number of trees, the species, and the planting locations, and then secured the stock. Six of the seven trees were sponsored by supporters of the Festival. Stephanie arranged for families to pull seven wagons, each containing a tree, from the Halifax Central Library to the Halifax Public Gardens at noon on 02 November. I served as Parade Marshall.

We assembled wagons, trees, families, volunteers, and parade enthusiasts in the plaza behind the library and engaged with the media (see this video too) before setting off. Following a circumnavigation of the plaza, we marched to Spring Garden Road, then headed west to South Park.

Once inside the Gardens, the wagons each stopped at their assigned planting spot (the hole already dug) where a staff gardener or volunteer helped the family install the tree. The finale was a group photo of all the participants.

As I noted to the TV reporter, this was a striking moment for fusing the domains of the arts – through literature – and sustainability – to tree-planting. A first hope I have is that the families and other parade participants will enjoy revisiting the Gardens often to observe the development of the trees they helped start life in their permanent home. A further hope is that our simple gesture to sustainability and the arts will inspire others to try walking some trees in their own neighbourhoods. I, for one, want to do this again ... and again … and again …