“What if I climbed a tree, nature journaled, and made a video about it every day for ten days?” That was the seed for this creative project that I called Ten Days Ten Trees.
Day one: the good, the bad, the sad…
It was a beautiful day and the California Sycamores were starting to leaf out. However, the doubting voice in my mind kept pestering me with questions such as “Who is the audience for this? Does anyone care? Is this just a waste of time and energy? Should I be focusing on something that can actually help me pay the bills? How will I fit this into my day?”
In the first episode I deal with some of the physical challenges of nature journaling 7 meters off the ground. I’m also paying attention to and recording the phenology of the California Sycamore trees and their flowering.
Watch to the end to hear the sad thing that I overheard someone yelling at their kid and the cool bird songs I misidentified.
Day Two: Trees are smart and people are … stupid?
“But there are no trees in San Diego.” Said the woman as I walked away.
I had just explained why I was on the trail with a huge backpack. I told her how I was practicing tree climbing in preparation for a trip to Costa Rica. Unfortunately, I can’t just laugh off her statement or make fun of her ignorance. If people think there are no trees here they definitely won’t go out of their way to protect them or even care for them.
As it turns out, there are trees in San Diego. And I was on my way to climb some of the biggest species of native trees in the area. Western Sycamore and Coast Live Oak. Both are magnificent trees that provide myriad ecosystem services. Both are rare in Southern California where much of their habitat has been converted to golf courses, shopping centers, and freeways.
If I only climbed native trees in San Diego I might run out of options. Therefore, I would have to turn my eyes elsewhere for the next episode.
One of the most hated trees…
Would you rather be a tree that no one knows exists or a tree that people actively hate on? Yes, I am guilty of hating on this tree too. Yes, I am talking about eucalyptus. It is a diverse genus of tree and they have been over-planted all over the world in situations where they have not had beneficial impacts.
I got paid to kill trees…
I made more money in four hours of killing trees than I will make from this entire month-long video project trying to document and conserve trees. What is the moral of the story here?
Gear Review…
Free climbing?
One of my biggest fears in life is stepping in poop while barefoot. That almost happened during this climb. I had to deal with several others of my fears as well.
Planes flying over my head…
Water hazard and other hazards…
You never know what you might see while you are climbing trees in urban places, especially if it is a well known “cruising” spot. So in addition to worrying about poison oak and falling in the water I can worry about the mating behavior of humans.
The most nervous climb…
When I first started this project, I was worried about climbing in places where people might see me and call the police. As I got more climbs in I started to realize that people rarely even noticed me. This was the most urban tree I climbed in San Diego.
Couldn’t finish the project in SD…
I ended up not finishing in ten days…I had lots of work to do to get ready for the Costa Rica trip. That means the series would have to continue in Costa Rica. Maybe that was a good thing.
Did you know there are oaks in the tropics?
In the highlands of Costa Rica I was able to climb a rare and endangered species of tropical oak tree. The weather was cold and drizzly so there were some challenges around filming and nature journaling. But guess what? I saw a resplendent Quetzal! One of the most extraordinary birds on the planet.
Highest climb yet…
This was the climb where I realized I was now climbing in another league and I started to doubt my skills and know how. Those are not the thoughts you want going through your mind when you are 196 feet off the ground and about to tie a knot that someone’s life will depend on.
Final Episode…
The final epsiode of Ten Days Ten Trees turns a bit sad and personal as I cope with the death of my dad and the burnt landscape around a tree from my childhood.
