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Text - 10B

Trees and Poppies
Green trees on a red field,
souls of human beings in their life.

Stalks moved by the wind,
logs on the fire of passion.

They are near the bank of a river
and a red sun is upon them.

Text - 9B

Trees and Sunflowers
I was alone with a particular company,
from that place I could see a golden field.

In the foreground there were trees and sunflowers
which brought my soul in passion.

They were looking in a particular direction
and this is the life of a human being
who tries to put the sun in the deepest part
of his heart in a calm and momentary way.

It is important to find the sun and with it
i move myself in the direction
of the quietness with a turbulent desire
to put light in the dawn of my soul.

Text - 7B

MY POINT OF VIEW

I looked inside myself, I found only pain,
I looked into the wisdom, I found only uncertainties,
I looked inside humanity, I found only hypocrisy,
I looked inside the friendship, I found only falsehood;

and then I fled.
On top of a tree I have a freedom,
under the roots I have a security,
in the trunk I have the firmness,

as a kid so I swung on the swing,
in a few minutes swing with the noose around my neck,
my cry has been unheeded by man.

Heaven now isn’t far away
so I'm a tree, I can hope in human,
and now I can protect them.

Text - 2B

Text - 1B

"Trees are living appearances, signs - often ancient - of stories and memories…
…We are used to being extremely individualist, until a problem is not part of our existence we do not face it at all. Yet human life is a continuous interaction between living beings…
…This is what we know: the earth does not belong to men, men belong to the earth. All things are connected like the blood which links one family. It was not man who weaved the web of life, he is only a thread of it. Whatever he does to the web, he does it to himself…
…Only when the last river is drained, the last tree is felled, the last animal is killed, only then will we realize that money can not be eaten.”

Text - 31D

WE CAN NOT LIVE WITHOUT IT

GREEN FADES AWAY EVERYTHING AROUND US,
…WILL BE A VAST DESERT.
THE HUMAN SPECIES FROM TAKING OVER THE GREEN,
BUT THE WORST IS THAT WE CAN NOT LIVE WITHOUT IT

Text - 23D

I WILL NEVER FORGET…

THERE IS A TREE BEHIND MY WINDOW
IT HAS MULTIPLE LEAVES COVERED WITH DREAMS,
IT HAS MULTIPLE BRANCHES FILLED WITH BIRDS.
IT HAS ROOTS THAT HELP TO REMEMBER MINE
AND IT HAS FLOWERS THAT SMELL OF FREEDOM.
MY MOTHER SAW IT BORN, I SAW IT GROW AND
MY CHILDREN WILL SEE IT GROW OLD.
THERE IS A TREE BEHIND MY WINDOW…
I WILL NEVER FORGET…

Text - 22D

THE MAN IS DEAD

THE MAN IS DEAD
NEAR THE OLD TREE
THE MAN IS DEAD
HE IS JUST FREE

HIS BODY IS ON THE GROUND
THE OLD TREE IS SAD
IT FEELS VERY LONELY
HE’LL BECOME SAND

Text - 21D

A TREE IN MY GARDEN

I HAVE A TREE IN MY GARDEN
THE TREE GIVES ME OXYGEN
I WATER IT EVERY DAY
IT GROWS AND GROWS AND DOESN’T STOP

BUT WE ARE IN WINTER
AND TODAY THE TREE IS SAD
BECAUSE THE SUN IS HIDDEN
AND IT CAN ONLY SEE THE CLOUDS

SOON MY TREE WILL LOOK AT THE SUN
BECAUSE THE SPRING WILL ARRIVE
AND THE WINTER WILL LEAVE

Text - 20D

THE TREE

NATURE JOINS US TOGETHER
IN FORM OF TREE COMES
THE HOPE THAT SHELTERS
NEVER WILL FALL INTO OBLIVION

THE TREE,
THAT BRINGS US THE HOPE
IN SHAPE OF GREEN COLOUR
THAT CHEERS US UP
AND COVERS OUR HEART.

Text - 21A

Walk hard as you can and don’t let any barrier beat you,
Walk with your heart as hard as you can
Think with your brain and no one else’s
Squeeze all the strength that is given to you
And you will rise, you be the brightest of all
The smartest of all
And at the end, when you are on top
You will throw a rope so that everyone can climb it
and feel the same thing,
and breathe the same air
as you do
It feels just like home!

Man and the Tree Contest

Hello!

You are all welcome to vote on your favourite pictures and texts of the Man and Tree contest.

Voting rules:

All students and teachers can vote.

Each person can vote once on ten works ranking them from 1–10. Send an e-mail to aliceecaguimaraes@gmail.com with your voting list.

Voting twice on the same work is not allowed.

ART IN VALENCIA

I spent last week in Valencia (Spain) and saw this tree.

Christmas tree

The Christmas tree

An Ancient Symbol

Thousands or years ago, there were people who believed that evergreen trees were magical. Even in winter, when all the other trees and greenery were brown and bare, the evergreen stayed strong and green. People saw the evergreen as a symbol of life and as a sure sign that sunshine and spring would soon return. Candles, or the electric lights we use to decorate our trees today, are also an ancient symbol. They represent the light of spring triumphing over the darkness of winter.
In ancient Rome, people decorated their homes and their temples with greenery during a special December feast. It was a happy time. No battles could be fought, the schools were closed, and people everywhere joined in the carnival-like atmosphere and gave each other presents.


The Modern Tree

So when did the Christmas tree go indoors? Legend has it that the tradition was begun by Martin Luther in Germany. He was a monk and church reformer who lived from 1483 to 1546. According to the legend, Luther was returning home one wintry night when he saw the stars twinkling in the sky through the tree branches. Luther was amazed by the sight, and when he arrived home, he was eager to tell his family about it. To help them understand, he went to the woods and cut down a small fir tree. Luther brought it indoors and decorated it with candles, which represented the stars he had seen.
The custom spread in Germany, and from there all over the world. In England, the Christmas tree first appeared when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, who was German. In 1841, Albert set up a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle near London to remind him of his homeland. The Christmas tree custom was brought to the United States by people from England as well as by many German immigrants who came in the 1800's. Whatever its origin, the Christmas tree is a beautiful symbol for everyone who celebrates Christmas.

The Legend of the First Christmas Tree

The night of the Saviour's birth, all the living creatures, both flora and fauna, came to Bethlehem with gifts. The olive tree brought its fruit and the palm its dates. But the little fir tree had no gift and was so tired it couldn't resist when the big trees pushed it into the background and hid it from view. But then a nearby angel took pity and commanded a cluster of stars to come and rest on its delicate boughs. When the Baby Jesus beheld this lovely lighted tree, He smiled and blessed it, declaring henceforth that fir trees should always be filled with lights at Christmastime to please little children.

http://www.morning-glow.com/holidays/xmas/xmastree.html

Merry Christmas!

Recuerdos from Dordrecht

Black and white team

From left to right: Ricardo Dobrões, Carina Morais, Mara Leite e Claúdio Silva.

LIVING IN A TREEHOUSE IN SUSSEX

Back to Nature
For the last few months Englishman Nick Weston has been living in a treehouse in Sussex. He doesn’t go to work, but he does hunt and gather his own food and he washes his clothes in a nearby river.

Nick Weston told us that he shoots and cooks rabbits and pheasants, but he said that gathering wild plants is in fact more dangerous.

Nick Weston : There’s a couple of things that are very poisonous like hemlock water dropwort, which grows in rivers. It was growing downriver there, I think it’s disappeared now, with the end of summer coming along. It grows in the ditch over there and in that ditch there’s also a lot of watercress growing but, you know, you have to be able to make that distinction between the two. And also, when you’re picking stuff, you have to be careful, like if I just grabbed a handful of watercress without really thinking about it and there was a bit hemlock growing amongst it, I’d sit there and eat it and would be dead by the afternoon, so you do have to be very careful!

IT SURE BEATS WORKING!
But life in a treehouse does have its advantages:

Nick Weston: I think the best things about living down here is probably not having to go to work and, you know, have to have a boss telling you what to do, and... and not having to deal with things like public transport and commuting and then all the unnecessary stuff you have to pay, like council tax for people to take your bins out and things like that. I mean, all my stuff is either composted down here or I burn it on the fire, it’s just mostly things like this, like food waste. So, yeah, there’s a lot of things I think we pay for in this country that we don’t need to, but I think the other thing that’s really good about... is just being out here and being in the middle of the wood and living your life, I suppose, with your bare hands and creating an existence for yourself and sustaining that, but, yeah, I mean it’s great, especially when it’s nice weather. When it’s not nice weather, it’s all right, ‘cause you could just sit in the treehouse and read.

Speak up - November 2009

Man and the Tree Competition

All of the MATT project students are invited to participate in the Man and the Tree drawing and text competition.
All information can be found here

Ta Prohm - Cambodia

Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara .

(...)

Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.

(...)

According to pioneering Angkor scholar Maurice Glaize, Ta Prohm was singled out because it was "one of the most imposing [temples] and the one which had best merged with the jungle, but not yet to the point of becoming a part of it".[4] Nevertheless, much work has been done to stabilize the ruins, to permit access, and to maintain "this condition of apparent neglect."[2]

(...)

The temple of Ta Prohm was used as a location in the film Tomb Raider. Although the film took visual liberties with other Angkorian temples, its scenes of Ta Prohm were quite faithful to the temple's actual appearance, and made use of its eerie qualities.

source: wikipedia

ANOTHER TREE PLANTED FOR THE PROJECT

On Friday October 2, 2009, another tree was planted for the Man & the Tree Comenius project. This was in front of the Instituto Serafino Riva in Sarnico, Italy.

FABULOUS WEEK IN SARNICO - ITALY

The project week in Sarnico (Italy) was a great success! Everything was prepared very well! Another unforgettable experience for our students!

A traditional item in the programme of our project meetings is the planting of a tree. A young olive tree was planted in front of our host school Instituto Serafino Riva by headmaster Giuseppe Lillo, assisted by some students.

What game are they playing? - Sarnico 2009

These poems were written by people who work with the Horn Relief Bander Beylaπs Solar Cooker Project. Such poems are indeed precious and powerful as they describe the importance of trees for a better environment for war-torn Somalia. The poems call for reduction in charcoal burning and charcoal production and for the protection of Somaliaπs fragile environment.


I looked and I looked,
all I see is you being destroyed,
cut, burnt by people.
I cannot imagine life without you.
You shelter me, feed meä
I thank you for that.
Trees, our trees,
Oh my people, save our trees
and use solar cookers instead.
Let our trees grow and be free
from charcoal makers and buyers
so that we can live a secure life.

by Shukria Dini



Tree in the Wind

A tree stands firm in the wind
Its roots grip the Somali soil
and holds together the source of pastoral life.

by Jim Lindsay, Bosaso, Somalia, 13 November 2005


TreesShade in the hot, hot sunäShelter for me and for birdsä.Protection for soilä.Space for lifeä..Trees for all.

by Pamela Collett, inspired by the world first, Somalia leads the way,Horn Relief and Sun Fire Cooking's Bender Bayla Solar Villages Project13 November 2005, Bosaso, Somalia

I give you shade
I provide fodder for your animals
I hold the soil so grass can grow
When I die I will give you fuel
Oh, charcoal cutter, why do you kill me so young.

Jim Lindsay

Civil War
The trees are cut down
The land is devastated
The people are in mourning.
The youth are in despair
Where is our future?
Where are our trees?

Pamela Collett, 15 November 2005, Bosaso Somalia

Blue Sky AboveWhy so much killing?Why so much violence?When the sky is so blue.O, Somalis, look up.
by Pamela CollettNovember 22 2005, on the road to Bender Bayla from BosasoTsunami
Whitecaps on a turquoise seaRolling waves rushing to silver sandGolden cliffs climbing highSqueezed between is Bender BaylaLiving by the seaDying by the sea.

by Jim Lindsay, in Bender Bayla, Somalia, 24 November 2005

Caper bushes and flowers

Indian figs

Ancient olive trees

THE FINN AND THE TREE

Performance of the opening act of "The Finn and the Tree" - Episode #1 - trees in Finnish Arts - "Petteri and Kullervo"
Performed during the Comenius Project meeting in Nokia Finland, May 11-15, 2009 by students of the Nokian Lukio high school.

Enjoy,

HK

IS IT AUTUMN YET??

BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT 90sec [HD]

whatching this movie, I can´t help feeling connected to mother earth

ANNE FRANK TREE

Anne frank about the chestnut tree in their garden
“Our chestnut tree is in full blossom. It is covered with leaves and is even more beautiful than last year...” - Anne Frank, 13 May 1944

Anne Frank often looked from the attic window at the chestnut tree behind the secret annex. She wrote about it in her diary. Now, the more than 150 year old tree is diseased, but online it will live on.

The academy award winning actress and screenplay writer Emma Thompson officially launched the Anne Frank House’s new ‘Anne Frank Tree’ website (www.annefranktree.com).

The website, in six different languages, offers people around the world a platform to express their affinity with Anne Frank. For many people Anne Frank symbolizes their hope for a world in which people can live together respectfully and in freedom, regardless of their origin, faith or political beliefs. The core of the website ‘Anne Frank Tree’ is the chestnut tree that Anne Frank could see from the attic window in the hiding place. Emma Thompson placed the first leaf with her name in the virtual tree.

Leave your leaf in the virtual chestnut tree, forward it and keep Anne Frank’s ideals alive.

What does your leaf represent?
Anne Frank was in hiding in the secret annex for over two years. During the day she had to be very quiet and she could never go outside. She yearned for freedom. Anne had a clear opinion about many things. She wrote about them in her diary. Writing made her less sad and it gave her the courage to carry on.

Anne wanted to be useful to others after the war. Not only to the people around her, but also to people she did not know. Anne did not survive the Holocaust but her diary has inspired millions of people all over the world to do their best for a better world. Anne’s wish came true after all.

With your leaf you can show that you too have been inspired by the diary of Anne Frank.

Anne Frank Tree

(information based on www.annefrank.org and www.annefranktree.com)