It was many years ago that my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Giron, first read Joyce Kilmer’s poem Trees to our class.
You could say that reading had a profound effect on me.
Some 57 years later, I am still deeply connected to trees.
Trees live in our literature, our songs, and our poetry. Here in the Pacific Northwest … and especially in Camas … they are also an integral part of our landscape and culture.
Last Easter Sunday, the weather was simply sublime, so I looked up places to take a walk among the trees. My hiking app suggested the west-side trail along Lacamas Lake, and it could not have been a more perfect choice.
The day was bright, sunny, and pleasantly warm … exactly the kind of spring day people in the Camas area wait for all year.
The native and non-native trees were on full display. Maple, cherry, serviceberry, and dogwood trees were in full bloom. Their blossoms in yellows, reds, and whites were lightly dusted with golden pollen from the nearby Douglas firs. All of this color and texture stood beautifully against the backdrop of those towering evergreens.
What began as a casual walk quickly turned into something more: a quiet study of the native riparian forest that lines the shores of Lacamas Lake.
There were alder stands in various stages of life and natural decline, bigleaf maple saplings emerging in the spaces where older alders once stood, and, of course, the ever-present Douglas fir.
This is a succession forest … fast-growing hardwoods gradually giving way to the enduring legacy forest of Douglas firs.
You see, I simply cannot walk past trees without observing, analyzing, and appreciating them.
At this point, it’s part of my DNA.
So I pose this question to the people of Camas:
What is your connection to trees?
What is it about them that inspires you?
Trees are part of our everyday lives here. They line the streets of historic downtown. They fill the greenbelts … or, as the city calls them, “sensitive lands” … that border our neighborhoods. They provide shade and beauty in the parks where families gather and children play.
For me, the most inspiring tree in Camas stands in the roundabout where Lake Road and Everett Street converge.
It is a graceful American chestnut … a tree that has nearly disappeared from North America.
Yet this one thrives.
It stands as a quiet testament to the fact that this community recognized its importance and made the effort to preserve it. That, to me, is something truly special.
So, people of Camas, I encourage you to visit this stately tree and take a walk along the west-side trail at Lacamas Lake.
If you hurry, you may still catch the last of the spring blossoms and the fresh unfurling of this year’s foliage.
Take a moment to look up.
Breathe it in.
And perhaps discover what trees mean to you.
