About
Blue Trees is a final project for S Hum 415, Environmental Interventions, taught by Prof Phoebe Sengers at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY in the fall of 2007. Installations throughout the Cornell Campus call attention to two potential impacts of climate change: sea level rise and habitat migration. The installation’s run is from Sunday, November 25, 2007 to Sunday, December 2, 2007.
Twenty young sycamore trees lining Ho Plaza, a pedestrian avenue near the center of campus, were wrapped in blue fabric representing potential sea level rise in New York city. As pedestrians travel down the walkway, the height of the fabric increases, from 0 feet in 2007 to the predicted rise due to climate change of 7 1/2 feet in 2250. Signs at either end of the avenue explain the purpose of the demonstration and direct viewers to visit the website at http://blue-trees.com.
Four tree species were selected whose presence in the Ithaca area would be threatened or reduced by climate change. These species are American beech, sugar maple, yellow birch and quaking aspen. Two trees of each species were girthed with a black band, representing the potential loss of these species in the Ithaca area.
The website provides the locations of the installation, information and links to further information and activist groups.
Press Contact: Jessica Evett-Miller, je18 –at– cornell.edu