I would like to commend everyone involved for their efforts in trying to save the elder cottonwood that, until this morning, stood regally along 32nd Street.
As Julia Butterfly Hill stated many years ago during her two-year protest atop an old growth redwood, “When you see someone in a tree trying to protect it, you know every level of our society has failed, the consumers have failed, the companies have failed, the government has failed.”
Yet those residents who rallied this week around a local cottonwood remind me that citizens’ voices matter, peaceful protest matters and hope matters. It was not enough to save this local cottonwood from a chainsaw, but moments like these do matter, giving a voice to those who have none, acknowledging support systems that all life forms depend upon and noticing something that may not be reflected in a blueprint.
Minutes after landing her feet on the ground after 738 days suspended in the 800-year-old tree dubbed Luna, Hill remarked, “If you are the only person left, as long as your hope is committed in action, then hope is alive in the world.”
Keep hope alive, Durango. This sort of neighborhood unity, action, and love for an old tree makes me proud to call this place home. RIP, elder tree.
Nancy Reno
Durango
