Street tree enthusiast of the month - Al Walter

Al Walter remembers planting a silver birch when he was five years old in North London, and the feeling it could never grow taller than he was. But to his amazement it did grow, before his eyes, and it was the first of many tree encounters in his life - kauri trees in New Zealand, banyans in Thailand and walnuts in France. “Trees seem so much more graceful than humans. I love that they are individual, and silent!”
 
Al lives in Grove Park and is our Area Rep there. “I enjoy how the role allows me to be an instigator and facilitator. I love making things happen, like trees do I suppose, in the background. My own background is in design, and working for Street Trees for Living makes me feel like an urban designer. When one tree is involved, I love working with the sponsor to arrive at just the right choice of species to create a statement piece in its setting. But I also love how community planting inevitably involves randomness and variety. That has its own aesthetic and is good for nature anyway.”
 
Al specialises in the design of music studios and is passionate about encouraging his Big Tech employer to take its share of corporate responsibility for community projects of all sorts. One day he hopes to spend more time doing exactly that himself.
 
Al is evidently a big enthusiast. “I love music and art and design and the outdoors and classic cars from the 60s to the 90s, and growing "moustache" chillis. And of course I love being an Area Rep. Once a sponsor said to me on the subject of species choice 'I'm afraid of birds. If I could have a tree that birds won't sit in, that would be fab.' I remember being simultaneously stumped and delighted."

If you like the idea of being Street Tree Enthusiast of the Month please email dom@streettreesforliving.org.