The Survivor Tree at the 9/11 Memorial

Jane Goodall's Words about the Survivor Tree from her book,  Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants, featured in Rev. Becky's Sermon this morning.

This particular tree is a Callery Pear Tree, and it is called the Survivor Tree because it’s the only tree that survived the terrorist attack at the World Trade Center. 

Just over 10 years after 9/11, on a cool, sunny April morning in 2012, I went to meet Survivor. In the 1970s she had been placed in a planter near Building 5 of the World Trade Center, and each year her delicate white blossoms had brought a touch of spring into a world of concrete. In 2001, after the 9/11 attack, this tree, like all the other trees that had been planted there, disappeared beneath the fallen towers. 

But amazingly, in October 2001, a cleanup worker found her, smashed and pinned between blocks of cement. The discovery was reported to Bram Gunther, who was then deputy director of forestry for the New York City Parks Department, and when he arrived, he initially thought the tree was unsalvageable. She had been decapitated and the eight feet of trunk that remained were charred black, the roots were broken, and there was only one living branch. 

Bram said that, as he looked at the stricken tree, he was skeptical at first, but ultimately the cleanup workers persuaded him to give the tree a chance. And so he ordered that she be sent off to the Parks Department’s nursery in the Bronx.”

Ron Vega, now the director of design for the 9/11 Memorial site, was a cleanup worker back then. He smiled as he thought back to that time. ‘A lot of people thought it was a wasted effort to try to rescue her,’ he recalled. ‘So she was taken out of the site almost clandestinely – under the cover of night.

Richie Cabo, the nursery manager, who became one of Survivor’s principal caregivers, said that when he first saw the decapitated tree, he did not think anything could save her. But once the dead, burned tissues had been cut away and her trimmed roots deeply planted in good, rich soil, Survivor proved him wrong.

‘In time,’ said Richie, ‘she took care of herself. But in the beginning, with all the fertilizing and pruning, it was hard work.

 Here is some more information from the 9/11 Memorial Website: After its recovery and rehabilitation, the Survivor Tree was returned to the Memorial in 2010. New, smooth limbs extended from the gnarled stumps, creating a visible demarcation between the tree’s past and present. 

From Rev. Becky: 

Today, the tree stands as a living reminder of resilience, survival, and rebirth. Each year, the 9/11 Memorial gives seedlings from the Survivor Tree to three communities that have endured tragedy in recent years. Parkland, FL; Ukraine; Buffalo, NY; Waukesha, WI have all been recent recipients. In 2021, it was decided that the World Health Organization would receive seedlings, in recognition of their response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and in 2023, Little Rock Arkansas received seedlings after so much of the city was damaged by tornadoes.