Stories Through Nature: Childhood Memories
Written by Antonia; August 20, 2020
Live Oak
As the date for my departure to Philadelphia grew closer, I decided to visit a place I hadn’t been to in a long time. In Austin, there’s a lovely park behind this popular grocery store in my area. As a child, I hosted and attended many birthday parties there, as well as play dates with friends. I spent countless hours running down the grassy hills, feeding ducks at the pond, and tediously crossing the “rock bridge” (which we were not actually allowed to do, but we ignored the signs). In this video, you will see the ancient Live Oak tree that I consider a fundamental part of my childhood. I used to climb this tree with my friends and sit in the branches with them. We’d play pretend and other games, running underneath its canopy.
While I frequented the grocery store a lot during high school, I never really had time to visit the park, so I enjoyed the nostalgia I felt walking through the area again. Luckily, I was able to film the tree when there weren’t a lot of people nearby. As I sat under this tree, I thought of my past here in Austin and listened to the sound of the helicopters flying overhead, landing on the nearby hospital. After a while, some kids approached and began climbing the tree, so I decided to get going. I heard them screaming and laughing as I walked away.
Stories Through Nature is a project of the 2020 Youth Forest Council. You can learn more about the program at www.austintexas.gov/youthforest.