While the world was still reeling from 9/11, and Ground Zero cleanup efforts were underway, a last, lone survivor was found underneath the rubble.
Rescue workers and first responders didn’t just take care of human lives, they also found a lone Callery pear tree burnt and covered in rubble. The only thing left of the tree at that time was an eight-foot wounded survivor with cracked branches and a charred body.
The tree, known as the Survivor Tree, stands at the World Trade Center memorial, unmarked by any plaque, but grabs attention and stands out from the oak trees that surround it.
“All the upper branches on this tree were shattered and torn off. This entire tree was no taller than eight-feet when we got it. It was what we would consider mortally wounded,” said Robert Zappala, former manager of the City Nursery for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, via a video by Narratively.
Beneath the scarred body new growth, smooth and glossy, appeared as the branches grew outward.
The 40-something-year-old tree was deemed healthy enough to return home to lower Manhattan at the end of 2010.
“So when we saw this tree it gave us a lot of inspiration. It’s the last living thing to get out of that site,” said Ron Vega, director of design and construction for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
The video shows the emotions of the people involved in the tree’s recovery process. It was an emotional day when they finally returned it to the site. “This means that it’s real. This means that we’re gonna bring her home. With that comes the memories of that fact that it had to leave in the first place,” said Vega.
This pear tree represents to me the ability of not only an organism to regrow and thrive, it also represents how our great city of New York is. That yes, we will take a hit but, but we are a survivor city,” said Zappala.
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