I heard about a project from an international organization seeking to distribute very special seeds to community groups that applied and qualified. These seeds came from trees that survived the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, from an American airplane.
That one bomb had more power than 20,000 tons (or 18144 tonnes) of TNT. The temperature at the epicentre of the blast was 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1927 degrees Celsius). The blast shockwave moved at 680 miles (about 1094 kilometres) per hour, followed by radiation levels off the chart; 140,000 people died. Those who lived through it suffered beyond imagining.
That day, 170 trees survived and were designated as “survivor trees.” Each tree to be named must have been within 2 kilometres of the epicentre of the blast. After the blast, the trees in Hiroshima looked like charcoal and people feared that it would be 75 years before anything grew near the epicentre. Then, on some of these survivor trees, buds emerged and seeds followed.
My neighbourhood in London wanted to participate by obtaining some seeds to germinate and grow, which would then hopefully be planted and cared for in our local park. Everyone who got involved could learn or use their horticultural skills to do something for a very worthy cause with a universal message.
We asked to have the seeds from a specific type of tree that we knew would do well in London, the Gingko biloba—an incredibly beautiful tree with deep roots in Japanese tradition where it is known as the bearer of hope.
Bearer of hope
Ginkgo biloba is a deciduous conifer, and one of the best-known examples of a living fossil, having remained unchanged for millions of years. It’s grown in gardens for its shape and its fan-shaped leaves, which turn yellow in autumn.
Ginkgo trees have a unique trait—once their leaves transition from green to brilliant yellow, and the weather gets cold and windy, they all fall together at the same time, creating a vibrant golden ocean around the trunk. They are such adaptable trees, surviving almost anything even during climate change.
Ginkgo trees were often present at Japanese temples, as sacred trees where the local spirits dwelled. In Japanese decorative art, the ginkgo’s distinctive leaves are symbolic of beauty and longevity (as the tree can live for 1,000 years). With a more profound meaning, several ginkgoes survived the blast at Hiroshima and are likely still growing today.
Each of us who was involved agreed to take one or two seeds home to germinate and hopefully grow into a small sapling in our garden. We had a skilled horticulturalist advise us about how we would germinate our seeds, and as a result, our group had an excellent success rate. As young saplings, these trees grow very rapidly to a few feet tall. In a few years, they were ready to be planted in the park with a commemorative plaque. We planted them in the fall, which is the best time of year to do so.
Everyone can get a different message from trees. Some people who look at our young survivor trees think about how humans must take better care of our planet. Others, that nuclear weapons must never be used again. Everyone will take something away—but I believe that we all found a personal message of peace and resilience in our young trees.
When I visited the park, I always strayed to the gingkoes. It’s heaven to watch any tree grow, but these particular trees are true survivors and beacons of hope.
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image 1 춘성 강 from Pixabay 2 image by János Bencs from Pixabay
