Fostering Healing in Teens
I wanted to take a moment to express how truly impressed I am with this beautiful analogy comparing trees to healing. It’s a powerful reminder of the resilience inherent in both nature and ourselves. Just like the way trees develop strong roots to stabilize themselves against the winds and storms, we too can find strength in our foundations—be it family, friends, or our passions.
Highlighting how trees not only endure challenges but also grow in the process. When they lose a branch, they adapt and continue to thrive, mirroring our own ability to recover from difficult experiences. This insight emphasizes that healing isn’t just about bouncing back; it’s about blossoming into something even more magnificent. This perspective is both hopeful and encouraging, especially for young people navigating their own paths.
Thank you, Emerald, for sharing such profound thoughts! Your ability to draw connections between nature and personal growth is truly inspiring.
May this blog post bring hope to your life and remind you that no matter how hard life gets, as Stan always reminded me, “This too shall pass.”
– Nate Deen
Trees planted in cities face unusual challenges not normally experienced by forest trees or those planted in dense community. The latter are often able to withstand severe weather and high winds because of their collective strength bolstered by rich soil full of strengthening nutrients. Urban trees, however, usually do not have that communal luxury, forced as they are to stand alone on sidewalks, fighting for minimal nutrients in compacted dirt under oppressive concrete sidewalks, making them more susceptible to disease as well as severe weather.
I work with Klean Kensington (“KK”) a non-profit organization in Philadelphia, PA that among other vital community services pays local teenagers to transform abandoned lots into beautiful garden spaces that provide physical and spiritual nourishment to our community. On MLK day this year professional arborists with the Philly Tree People (“PTP”) taught our KK teens the rudiments of taking care of trees known as tree tending.
The PTP volunteers demonstrated how to effectively use tree trimming tools which intrigued many of the KK teens. An hour into our branch trimming, one teen named Chris pulled me aside to express his excitement in showing tender loving care to the trees. Excited I thought “My, how enthusiastic and earnest he was! Something amazing is happening here. A bud of curiosity waiting to blossom and bear fruit.” Together we learned how to recognize physical trauma on the trunk and branches of trees, and how to identify “water sprouts”. A damaged or highly stressed tree often produces water sprouts as an immediate coping mechanism to survive harsh circumstances. Unfortunately this coping mechanism actually diverts nutrients from the trunk to the temporary water sprout that eventually dies.
I thought about how the water sprout phenomenon parallels temporal quick fixes we humans use to handle deep hurt from trauma, when we divert our energy to addressing the superficial feelings that cover up the real crisis. Trimming the stress spot of the tree is the best way to channel nutrients rather than diverting them into water sprouts that will never extend the tree’s life. In the same way we can sap our energy just coping with trauma effects, rather than channeling that energy toward healing. We end up wasting spiritual and physical resources on things that distract rather than confronting the real problems in life. I realize shedding coping mechanisms that temporarily ease trauma symptoms is no easy task. It takes rigorous resolve to face the root causes of trauma. But chopping off a dried up branch, though sounding harsh, may ultimately be the best for the life of the injured tree.
The PTP instructors also explained that in treating a tree in stress, it is best to only trim 10-15% at a time. Too much trimming at once can overwhelm the tree’s resources and be counter-productive. When you study a tree, it is not hard to spot water sprouts. Similarly as we seek to care for people in trauma, we can spot signals crying for help. This observation teaches me that as I endeavor to reach out to our teens, I need to be patient with them, extending grace, tender loving care, keeping their safety in mind. Yes! All of us need time to heal: it might be a slow and steady process. Thoughtful, prudent trimming keeps us healthy and thriving, knowing we are growing stronger and more fruitful little by little in our challenging community.
All the love,
Emerald M.
Emerald works with Klean Kensington, a teen-focused and neighborhood-based non-profit bringing hope and beauty through community cleanups and establishing gardens. As a local native, Emerald is passionate about empowering young people and sparking change through mentoring and expanding educational opportunities. She dreams of establishing her own handball sports program to inspire initiative and leadership in young women.
Posted 05/05/2025