Tree Loving Care aims to foster deep connections between urban residents and the often-overlooked street trees that line our city sidewalks. Through interactive tree care stations along 14th Street in New York, this project provides opportunities for the public to engage in acts of mutual nurturing and care with these arboreal neighbors.

At tree steward stations trees are tagged with QR codes and instructions. The codes are a signal to listen, look, and call to participants to access audio, video, and written content guiding them through simple yet profound activities. These may include singing to the trees, caressing their bark, aerating the soil, or performing litter removal. For example, one code leads to a prerecorded video where a performer looks into the viewer’s eyes, offering connection and partnership. This time spent together creates a sense of calm in the viewer and provides support. Each action is designed to underscore the symbiotic relationship between trees and humans while providing tangible benefits.

The project’s core concept stems from the understanding that trees are essential urban allies, providing shade, clean air, flood prevention, CO2 uptake and myriad health benefits through increased social connections and sense of purpose. However, their well-being is intrinsically tied to human stewardship. By transforming these ordinary street trees into vibrant care stations, Tree Loving Care makes their presence powerfully visible while empowering residents to become active caretakers.

In addition to the installations, the three-day festival features a series of live choreographed performances by dancers adorned in tree care attire. Through evocative movements and gestures, these performers will animate the nurturing exchange between trees and humans. Butoh-inspired dances may conjure the ghostly presence of lost trees, while meditative actions like raking and mulching will be elevated to poetic experiences of tender tree husbandry. Dancers use tools like trash grabbers, shovels and rakes to free trees from litter, adding a love and care in their movements atop NYC Parks› work. The aim is to inspire the public to engage in litter collection and to stop trashing tree holes. 

Tree Loving Care’s public engagement is designed to be deeply participatory and intergenerational. In partnership with the NYC Parks Department, Urban Field Station, Nature of Cities, and The New School’s CareLab, the project combines social practice art, environmental education, and experiential learning. Community members who live, work, and traverse 14th Street were invited to interact with the installations through programming linked to local institutions like the 14th Street Y, Sirovich Senior Center, McBurney Y, Salvation Army, NYC Parks Street Tree Stewardship Team, and The New School. The project is also be documented on CareLab’s forthcoming website, providing a lasting digital platform.

Ultimately, Tree Loving Care seeks to awaken urban residents to the precious nonhuman lives amongst them. By centering trees as recipients of care, the project nurtures reciprocal bonds that allow both entities to thrive. In this interchange, we are reminded that our human longevity is inextricably linked to the health of our arboreal kin.

Photography: Laura Nova, Art In Odd Places festival NYC