O'Brien, on the right, is a one-man Humane Society for trees.
Members of a group called Plant Amnesty are kind of like real-life Loraxes (Lorices?), if the Lorax actually did something to save the Truffula trees instead of just wagging his finger like some kind of pre-internet concern troll.
Exemplifying their ethos is Bernie O’Brien, a resident of Seattle who has saved at least 500 trees, digging them up by hand — including arboreal monsters that weighed up to 400 pounds, reports the Seattle Times.
Anyone who has ever been saddened to see a tree go down so the neighbors could add a third bay to their garage can understand the philosophy that drives O’Brien and other tree savers.
With 900 members nationwide and in four countries who believe, for example, that trees shouldn’t be topped for landscaping purposes, [Plant Amnesty founder Cass Turnbull] says, “I get calls and emails all the time from people who say they are spiritually involved with trees. Trees have a silent, timeless grandeur. It’s a theme that runs through all cultures and places. You’ve heard references to the ‘speaking tree?'”
Unfortunately, trees aren’t as resilient as, say, dogs. One in five don’t survive a relocation. For a gallery of those that do, check out O’Brien’s website.
