A New Tree Planting Tradition

Our move to northern Michigan provided a wonderful opportunity to start a new tradition with our grandchildren: to plant a tree somewhere on our property for each one of them. We had always loved planting trees and were already interested in diversifying the tree population on our property. Why not combine this natural interest with our love for all the little people in our lives?

This tradition, we thought, would be a great way to honor the individuality of each grandchild and to help them establish a connection with the land. It would encourage them to feel part of something larger than themselves and to learn about tree species that grow well in northern MI. We envisioned them interacting with their very own tree each time they came to visit, and could already hear the delight in their voices: “How much did my tree grow this time?” And the tree’s quiet response: “How much did my child grow?”

As with most new traditions, there were parameters to establish: Would each grandchild pick out their own tree or would we pick out the tree for them? Would each grandchild help plant their own tree or would we plant the tree for them? Would the parents be involved?  Would there be an age requirement?  Would the trees be planted in any particular order, say from oldest to youngest grandchild, or youngest to oldest? What tree species would be planted and where? Would siblings from any given family unit plant the same or different tree species? Would the trees be named or labeled? If so, how? Questions went on and on.

In the end, given the complexities of our geographically dispersed family, we decided to keep parameters of the tradition fairly fluid, and handle tree plantings case by case. If it worked for a particular grandchild to pick out and/or plant their own tree, great. If not, we would do it on their behalf. If parental involvement worked out, great. If not, we would go ahead and tree plant anyways. If siblings or cousins  picked the same tree species, great. If not, that was fine too. In terms of tree planting order, we decided it didn’t really matter as long as all the trees were planted within the next year or so.

As we thought about starting this new tradition, perhaps the biggest question we had to answer was this: How many grandchildren do we have? For those of you who know us well, that’s a fairly complex question!

As  already referenced on the the Lloyd and Vicki page of our website, we have “4-7 children and 9-15 grandchildren (depending how you count them) who live in various US states and provinces.” Since we wanted nadamore to be a place where “all who enter feel loved, seen and encouraged“, we decided the best way to go about establishing this new tree planting tradition was to use a definition of family we created years ago. At the time, we were looking for a definition that was inclusive enough to accommodate family life as we were experiencing it. Since we couldn’t find such a definition in the dictionary, we invented our own:

FAMILY: A group of individuals connected by blood, adoption, marriage or kinship, whether dwelling together or not.” Pronunciation: (fam’u-le, fam-le)

With this broader and more inclusive definition of family, we have 15 grandchildren by 6 of our 4-7 adult kids who had children of their own:

Kristin and her children, Emma (15), Claire (13) and Levi (10) who live in Grand Rapids MI connected by blood;

Nick & Jess and their son, Rowan (1) who live in Denver CO, connected by blood/marriage;

Reuben & Heidi and their children, Eden (12) and Harper (10) who live in Hamilton Ontario, connected by blood/marriage;

Kim & Paul and their children, Marley (11), Gavin (7) and Gerrit (5) who live in Grand Rapids MI, connected by adoption/marriage.

We have always considered these original four (Kristin, Nick, Reuben and Kim) to be our core family. Many past traditions have revolved around this part of our family and numerous present traditions continue to honor these original four.

But there are others too, like Michael & Amanda and their four sons, Mikey (9), Javonnie (5), Cameron (3) and Adrian (1) who live in Kansas City MO, connected by kinship/marriage.  Michael has a mother who lives in Des Moines and also a father, but has participated heavily in our family life since he was four months old. In so many ways, he has been and is, one of our kids. His children call us “Nana and Papa” just like the rest of our grandchildren do;

And Salome & Isaiah and their children Micah (4) and Rebekah (2) who live in Frederick MD, connected by kinship/marriage.  We became legal guardians for Salome when she arrived to the US from Nigeria at age 14. Since then, she has referred to us as “Mom and Dad” even though she has a biological mother in Nigeria (her father died after a traffic accident when she was 12 years old.) Salome and Isaiah’s children call us “Nana and Papa” just like the rest of our grandchildren do.

So, whether by blood, adoption, marriage or kinship, the 15 children below are  our grandchildren for this new tradition. There will be a tree planted for each of these unique individuals:

Since our May 2019 move to 3577 W Cheney Rd, Maple City MI,  here’s how this new tradition had unfolded:

Michael and Amanda Freeman and their family from Kansas City MO were our very first visitors and therefore, the very first tree planters! They were nadamore guests  for a week this past July, so there was ample time to plant a tree for each of their four sons.  Since the boys are relatively young and since our favorite nursery,  Four Seasons,  is a 20-25 minute drive from where we live (too much time in a car for young children), we decided to pick out/buy/transport four trees to our property before the Freemans arrived. We decided, in this case,  to buy Balsam Firs for all four Freeman boys because there were no other Balsam Firs on our property and because we already knew the perfect spot to plant them.

There was a dead Apple tree in the area where we wanted to plant the Balsam Firs, so part of tree-planting preparation was to cut down and remove the dead wood. Since Michael had never operated a chain saw before, Lloyd gave him a few safely tips and let him go. Amanda and I watched with the four boys as Lloyd and Michael spent an hour or two removing the dead Apple tree. By the time everything was cleared, there was  ample space to create a Balsam Fir welcome area for the driveway. Since Michael and Amanda were both present at the time, they helped each of their sons plant a tree and attach a copper label with their name and date.  The Freeman trees have been growing well. They are standing strong even though winter has arrived.

 

The next opportunity to plant trees came in late July when cousins Claire and Marley talked their parents into a weekend visit of their own. Since neither girl was old enough to drive, we made arrangements to meet the parents half-way between Grand Rapids and our new place up north. Claire and Marley were old enough to pick out their own trees at the nursery. After considering all the options, Claire chose  a Japanese Maple and Marley chose a Tamarack, one of  the few conifers that turn color in the fall. In addition to picking out their own trees, Claire and Marley helped us pick out a baby White Spruce for Rowan, our youngest grandchild who lives in Denver CO. We were eager to get Rowan’s tree in the ground (even though he wasn’t present at the time) because the best time to plant a tree (especially a spruce) is 100 years ago!

This past fall, Claire’s Japanese Maple turned a beautiful red and Marley’s Tamarack turned a golden yellow. Rowan’s Spruce kept its dark green color until the first snow came and dusted it with white.

 

Since winter has arrived, our new tree planting tradition is on hold. We are looking forward to planting the remaining 8 trees (for Emma, Levi, Eden, Harper, Gavin, Gerrit, Micah and Rebekah) sometime this coming spring, summer or fall. Meanwhile, as snow continues to fall, the trees already in the ground keep us company.

V.

Vicki Vanderkwaak On January 30, 2020   /   A Journey