Embracing the Trees

A Tree Planting Initiative of GreenFriends North America

Amma's encouragement for us to plant trees has gotten stronger and taken on more urgency recently. First, she asked us to plant one tree per month. Now she asks us to also plant trees for special holy days, holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Although willing to plant trees, many of us don't know how or where to begin. To that end, GreenFriends North America is introducing the Embracing the Trees initiative to support all MA Centers and satsangs as we work together to plant as many trees as we can.

First a few words from our foremost guide and inspiration, Amma. These are words that she has spoken on different occasions in the past years, and which she continues to emphasize.

"The entire world revolves around the central point of compassion. It is sustained by this alone. This is seen in Nature, where all creatures coexist and help each other survive in subtle and gross ways. As more and more plants and animals are destroyed and become extinct, we see how we are unable to get pure air, which in turn makes our bodies impure, pollutes our food, and so on." - Amma (Guru Purnima 2020)

"We are a part of nature. We have come from nature. The human body is comprised of the five natural elements. Forever forbearing and forgiving us, the earth remains as our constant support. The sun gives us light. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, which is poisonous to us, and release oxygen. Rivers and lakes give us fresh water to quench our thirst. Air provides us with our life-breath. In spite of all this, human beings, who have evolved from the five elements, fail to acknowledge their importance.

“... Therefore our focus today should neither be on dependence nor non-dependence, but on interdependence. This is because humans, animals, plants, the earth, the sky, the atmosphere, the sun, the moon and all the planets are all interdependent. " - Amma (Birthday 2012)

The GreenFriends North America "Embracing the Trees" initiative (GFNA ETT) aims to provide opportunities for practicing this interdependence and cooperation in doing our part to re-green Mother Earth, and to honor Amma's pledge to join the Trillion Tree Campaign which was launched by the UN in March of 2018. https://www.embracingtheworld.org/news/trillion-tree-campaign/

The ETT initiative involves regional resource teams working through the regional MA Center ashrams (including Amma Centers and Amma Foundation of Canada) to support tree planting activities among satsangs. It is envisioned to be an interconnected web of support and information among the MA Centers and satsangs, sharing information and expertise. The web site greenfriendsna.org is building a web section to support this web of tree planting activity among satsangs.

There are many ways for satsangs to be involved in this endeavor, including the initial phase of research and planning. Some satsangs will want to be involved in tree planting only, whether on public, private lands or in urban centers. Some might focus on growing the appropriate trees for your region from seeds or by grafting onto rootstock. Some might want to donate toward growing or planting trees. There are many ways to be involved.

It is important to take the time for the research and planning phase so that the most appropriate trees and support plants for your region are chosen, given the climatic changes we are seeing. Also, if applicable, different partner organizations would need to be vetted.

Going slow and starting small will ensure success in the long run. All this will be guided by your regional MAC ETT team.

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Regional MA Centers are putting together ETT teams that will guide satsangs and individuals in their regions with all aspects of this endeavor. If you are interested in being involved, please contact your satsang coordinator or regional MAC at the address listed at the end of the article. You can also write to us at trees@greenfriendsna.org if it is not clear which regional MAC you should connect with. Please include the city and state you live in when writing to us.

Regional Tree Planting Guidelines

Southeastern ETT Tree Planting Guidelines

East Central ETT Tree Planting Guidelines

Chicagoland ETT Tree Planting Guidelines

New England ETT Tree Planting Guidelines

Pacific NorthWest ETT Tree Planting Guidelines

Modern science is proving that the entire universe, both gross and subtle, is made up of one substance and all the different modifications of this substance are governed by the same laws. For Ages, the Sages of India have been calling that one substance as the Universal Consciousness. Through this Consciousness we are all united and interdependent, just as Amma describes to us, over and over in different ways.

With Amma's grace, may we join together as an interdependent cooperative web of life-sustaining actions for Mother Earth and future generations.

Swamini Ambikamrita Prana and GreenFriends North America Core Team:
Vino, Boston
Vishwan, Santa Fe
Natasha, Toronto
Ahalya, New England

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