Revised Environmental Design Proposal

For our environmental design, we plan to start a Memory Tree. This will be in a secluded grove of hollowed-out trees by the Theater Arts department, an often overlooked nook for solitude and renewal for the students that take time for their busy schedule to discover the place. There are large chunks of burnt out redwoods surrounded by tall healthy living ones and the natural earth tones offer a calm and peaceful environment for escape. This is a place to leave all worries and troubles behind and we wish to make this space into an even more welcoming and nurturing location to leave things behind. There, people may bring pictures of people, events, etc that have influenced their lives and that they wish to remember.

To start this Memory Tree, members of The Drug of Choice will take part in a decorating ceremony so it is truly an environmental performance and not just an art instillation. We will install fishing line across the trees and hang rainbow prisms to catch the light and shoot patches of rainbows that can dance along the brown trees – the light shimmering from the prisms will help provide a glimmer of hope, a moment of beauty as a reminder to rest and escape from the hectic lives we live and to remember the past. Other members will hang words that they hold close to them, written on paper and tied to the tree with string. Also written on paper, we will hang the names of people who have had an influence on us, that can't be seen anymore but don't want to let go of. In this way, we will remind people that there are things we have lost without even realizing they are gone, and that it is easy to get them back. Another member will represent the recent loss in the gay community with the decision to pass Prop 8, representing the memories of the beautiful weddings that took place before the proposition, in hopes that people will reflect on the decision for the future and seek change. The addition, a champagne bottle placed by the tree will commemorate the memory of downtown Santa Cruz after the election of Barack Obama, of people in streets dancing, singing, and being sprayed with champagne. We will also promote remembrance for all the people who died doing what they love by painting death/after-life pictures on small rocks and placing them around the bottom of the tree. A piece of rope will be tied around the trunk of the tree, in imitation of a shinto practice, which designates the tree as a holy tree. This will promote the theme of "Death for Love". Another member will paint smooth stones white, and then use charcoal to write words and phrases that have memories and meaning in them. These stones will be placed around the trunk of the tree, and over time, the charcoal words will fade away with the weather, opening up space for other people to fill in their own words and memories, symbolizing the way old memories, though they fade away, are never forgotten, and may always be re-written over the years. Others will simply attach photos and various other memorabilia, in remembrance of loved ones: grandparents, pets, friends, family, and any other special people that may have passed away, or that have shared precious memories with the person.

We will begin decorating the trees in a ceremony that we will document by means of photos and video. After that, anyone is free to go there and add to the tree any memories which they feel are important to them.