A tree grows in Brooklyn

Christa Avampato
2 min readMay 27, 2024

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5 trees, actually, and in my kitchen. Two weeks ago, I planted 12 trees at their most vulnerable stage — grafts from existing trees sent to me by the Arbor Day Foundation that looked like nothing more than twigs. They’re in a planter in my Brooklyn kitchen. Of the 12, 5 now have tiny leaves: 2 Eastern Redbuds, 2 Washington Hawthorns, 1 White Flowering Dogwoods. This is thrilling because most trees at this stage rarely survive, and I’ve never planted trees in this stage before.

I’m very interested in learning more about tree propagation as the impacts of climate change grow more urgent every day. I’m thinking about a few tree-centered startups to pursue after I finish my Masters in Sustainability Leadership at University of Cambridge in two months. Growing these beauties counts as research! Nature’s wisdom is boundless, and I’m so happy to be her forever student.

My baby trees. Photos by Christa Avampato.

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Christa Avampato

Award-winning author & writer—Product Dev — Biomimicry scientist — Podcaster. Runs on curiosity & joy. twitter.com/christanyc / instagram.com/christarosenyc