Today I spent some time in our school garden where we planted two olive trees five years ago. We were just moving into our current school buildings and it was the first anniversary of 9/11. To honor the hope for peace, we planted two olive trees. The trees are of two diferent varieties, but both olive bearing trees. We also transplanted our "Founders Tree" a very small and spindly willow tree to represent the school as time goes on.
The olive trees are now both sturdy---one kind of a thick bramble of a bush and the other, tall and slender. Both bear olives but not quite enough yet to produce a bottle of oil...but someday..... Our Willow had thrived----from a small three foot, weak limbed plant it is now about 7 or 8 feet tall with three strong and graceful trunks. It often has kids kind of nestled inside of it seeking some shade or quiet time.
On this 6th anniversary of 9/11 I'm happy to see our trees representing our community. Three different trees, two related, one only related by being a tree and I can't help but think of the remarkable diversity that is Willow Creek. We have parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends raising our children; we have every shade of skin imaginable fro the palest pink to the darkest brown and we have all of the world's greatest religions represented in our midst. In this day and age, our trees and our people, bode well for the future and demonstrate on a daily basis that we certainly can "all get along"...and on days when we can't, we are able to come back together and figure out what was the problem and what can we do about it.
Let's hope the outside world can do the same.
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An informal description of daily activities at Willow Creek Academy Charter School in Sausalito, CA.
About Willow Creek Academy
- Carol Cooper
- Sausalito, CA, United States
- Willow Creek Academy is a public charter school founded in 2001 by parents and Sausalito community members. Started with 37 students in grades K-4, it now is a K-8 school with 150 students.