Walk outside and tune into your senses. Breathe in the air and look around you. Let yourself be guided to walk in whatever direction you are called to. As you walk, look at the trees around you. Take in their diversity. Let yourself be drawn to a tree. As you approach, begin to take it in with your eyes.

Place your hands on bark- what does the texture feel like? Breathe in deeply- what can you smell? What temperature do you feel? What do the colors look like?

You can do this sitting down or standing. Or flopped on on the trunk belly up or belly down if it is horizontal. Let your body be heavy and fully supported.

What does it feel like to tap into your senses this way? To slow down and be present with this tree? What feelings, sensations, or visions come to you?

Take a walk outside and look around at the plants. Let yourself be drawn to a leaf. Collect it off the ground.

Place your leaf on a hard, flat surface with a piece of paper on top. Using a peeled crayon or pastel, rub color where the leaf is to reveal a leaf relief!

As you do this, tune in to your senses. What does the color you chose look like with the leaf structure? What is the texture of leaf, and what does it feel like when you apply pressure on it? What does the leaf smell like?

Take time to tend to your roots. What do you know about the place(s) you come from, if anything? About your ancestors, if anything? Do you feel connection or disconnection to these roots?

Are there any trees that remind you of your ancestry or the place(s) you come from? What do they look like? Smell like?

You may want to make a family tree of your ancestors, or engage in art or ritual with trees that remind you of your roots.

What do trees mean to other people? What have trees meant mythically and across time?

Get curious and ask people if they have any stories to share with you.

You may also begin to take note of trees in media, art, literature, myths, and sacred texts.

Expanding your curiosity around the world, you can learn about tree traditions across time and space. There are so many stories and traditions surrounding trees!

For example, the Japanese tradition of shinrin yoku or forest bathing. Or, fairy trees in Celtic tradition. Or, the dance around the Yunsa tree in Peru during the holiday of Corta Montes.

Trees are vital members of our community. We owe our lives to the oxygen they give. Treat trees kindly. Learn about them. Engage with them and spend time with them. Protect them.

If you are able, support people who protect the trees with action and finances. Three among many great funds in this vein: Na’ah Illahee Fund, The Mother Tree Project, and Tree Action Seattle.