Urban kids learn to love limbs and leaves – Northwest McClatchy – bellinghamherald.com

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/10/16/2230405/urban-kids-learn-to-love-limbs.html

Urban kids learn to love limbs and leaves

Violet Hopkins climbed up into the giant sequoia tree with no problem, but on her way down she lost her nerve.

Twenty feet from the ground, the 10-year-old froze in a half-crouch, her feet on a limb about as big around as a baseball bat and her right cheek pressed tightly into the tree’s rough bark.

A chorus of advice drifted up from below.

“Reach out and grab ahold of the lower branch,” yelled the arborist holding her belaying rope.

“Violet, you need to let go of your hand,” said her mom, Amy Laidlaw.

“You can trust that rope,” said one of the other professional tree climbers. “It’s been tested to 8,000 pounds, and you only weigh about 50.”

But Violet was paralyzed with fear. She could not move.

This was Saturday morning at Tacoma’s Wright Park, during Metro Parks’ annual Fall Tree Festival.

The idea of the festival is to help kids climb trees so they appreciate them more.

“It’s surprising how many urban kids don’t have big trees at home,” said Kathy Sutalo, urban forester for Metro Parks and the woman who came up with the idea for the festival nine years ago.

“People tend not to think of trees as living things,” Sutalo said. “If you interact with them – actually get out and touch them and climb them – they become a part of a consciousness that a lot of urban kids don’t have.”

As festivals go, this one is a bargain. It’s free for the kids, and Sutalo says her budget was just $150 – most of which went to provide lunch for the half-dozen professional tree climbers who volunteered their time.

The urban forest is a crucial part of our ecosystem, Sutalo said, providing wildlife habitat, cleaning the air and protecting water resources.

Wright Park has an especially rich variety of trees, she said, many of which are more than 100 years old.

Violet, who came to Saturday’s festival all the way from Monroe, in Snohomish County, looked as if she would be happier not having her tree consciousness raised.

But she was an exception. Dozens of other kids lined up to put on helmets and climbing harnesses and ascend into the sequoia’s branches, then scoot back down, aided by ropes.

“I liked climbing up, and I liked climbing down even better, said Payton Reed, 12, of Puyallup. “You just lean back and they lower you down.”

That’s not the way it worked for Violet. After 10 minutes of cajoling, her dad, Patrick Laidlaw, suited up and climbed the tree himself, then carried her down in his arms.

Violet regained some of her composure after a few minutes on the ground.

“I was just scared is all,” she said.

Rob Carson: rob.carson