Two of my classmates (Sam Turchan and Christopher Lum) and I spent over three months pitching story ideas, designing a physical magazine and website, and writing articles on sustainable living. We called our magazine “sprout”.
We realized sprout was strengthened by the fact that all of us had relatively little experience or knowledge about sustainable living. Our stories were written with the mindset that readers could learn with us along the way.
I’ve been taught to write the stories I want to write. As a journalist, I am curious about everything. I was curious to know more about sustainable living, but it seemed like such a foreign subject. And I didn’t think that I’d have such a personal interest in one of my stories in particular.
The story was about urban wood utilization and how LEAF founder Janet McKay turned one of her own trees into a bench. But before this story was the one that inspired it. Mine.
In the backyard of my family’s home and our neighbour’s home were two Norway maples that had fused together over time. The trees—or what had looked like one large tree—were huge. They had been there since my family moved in over 20 years ago. One stormy, windy night in mid-September 2014 the two trees split (due to trunk rot , which we later found out from an arborist), and our neighbour’s tree fell in his backyard.Which is why it was only logical for my parents to consider removing our tree as soon as possible, fearing that it would fall onto our house.
They immediately started their research, contacting several arborists to get the best quote. After many consultations, my parents came to the conclusion that our tree needed to be taken down.
We discovered that tree removal was an expensive process. And that most of our tree would end up in a wood chipper. My parents were upset not only because of how much removal would cost, but because of how much they loved the tree too. It was large enough to shade more than half of our backyard during the hot summer months. It was there throughout birthdays, family barbeques and wedding showers.
Now that it’s gone, our backyard looks strangely empty.
I wondered if there was some way we could have kept a piece of it, something to remember it by. I googled around and discovered LEAF’s page on urban wood utilization.
I thought this would be a perfect story for sprout. What comes out of urban wood use and how is it being produced in Toronto? How could people living in the city think differently about their damaged trees? That was what I wanted to find out.
I enjoyed talking with Janet McKay and Rob McMonagle (City of Toronto), and even had the opportunity to do some filming with Janet and take photos of her beautiful black locust trees. I was impressed by how many things could be made out of a single tree and how they added to her backyard.
At the end of the semester, the story was eventually a contender for the Best Story category, critiqued by a panel of judges who evaluated sprout and magazines created by my classmates in the course. Although I did not win, my editor, Lindy Oughtred, told me one judge especially loved the story.
Even though I wasn’t able to keep a piece of my Norway maple, I think the story is a fitting way to commemorate it—by informing readers that they don’t have to say goodbye to their own trees.
Kimberly Aglipay is currently finishing her studies in Journalism and Geography at the University of Toronto and Centennial College. You can follow her on Twitter at @KimberlyAglipay You can fine the feature story she wrote on the sprout website as well as a photo gallery of the ways Janet used her black locust tree. The entire magazine in its print form can also be read over at ISSUU.