Every tree can tell a thousand stories. They witness everything from little everyday moments to the milestones that define our lives.

When they have to be removed, it can be a painful loss for a family that shared so many memories under those branches.

That’s why it’s so meaningful to purchase lumber from Urban Wood Rescue. We save these urban trees from the landfill and mill them into usable lumber. By using this wood for your projects, you can give these trees a second life and honor the many memories they hold for this community.

Read on for the story of why one family decided to donate their tree to this program: 

The street’s tree canopy, and proximity to a park filled with trees, drew us to the house we purchased on in 2003. Giant sycamores formed most of the tree canopy, but a handful of homes towards our end of the block, featured large redwoods. Our 94-year old neighbor, Leona, explained that decades ago the neighbors had gone to the county fair and purchased the redwood seedlings that we now saw tower above us.

The redwood is now about 38 inches around and makes our two-story home feel like a doll’s house. Since 2003, our family has spent many evenings sitting on our front porch, watching activity in the tree. We knew that we could only see a fraction of the life supported by the tree, but we relied on that activity that was readily visible to remind us of the universe of life we couldn’t see. So we watched the squirrels chasing each other around and around. We watched the construction and habitation of an annual series of bird nests that were constructed on the same branch for several years.

One year the birds fledged on our son’s birthday. He and his friends who had slept over to celebrate his birthday ran out the front door to watch the baby birds fly from the tree to a nearby bush. We watched a bird of prey that occasionally sat at the very top of the tree and which we suspected might be waiting to feast on some of those baby bird eggs. We didn’t know who we should root for, but we treasured that we had the opportunity to bear witness.

The memories go on. Our boys practicing their karate moves with the tree. Our German shepherd zooming after squirrels up its trunk, entirely confident that each of a thousand attempts would be the time she could finally follow the squirrels up the tree’s height.

A couple of years ago we noticed that the tree had progeny about eight feet from its base. A year or so later, it became clear that the tree was declining quickly. We don’t know if its offspring will survive or whether we will plant a new tree native to Sacramento’s hot dry summers. Or both.

Now the tree has come down. We are hopeful that somehow its mass will find a home and be treasured. If you are reading this, it seems possible that hope may be realized.

With gratitude,

Wendy Bogdan

Learn more about Urban Wood Rescue or view our inventory and prices.