View Trash Tree: on display now at OBIC!

On Sunday, April 24, UUCC youth and the UUCC Climate Team joined forces to host a Local Gathering of the UUA@UN Spring Seminar.

The topic was climate-based displacement, and the event included a panel with Krista Rand, Ph.D. and author Todd Miller, moderated by high school student Teaghan Verow McLaughlin, with audience members in the sanctuary and on Zoom. Speakers from local organizations like Luminus, Friends of Latin America, and Channing Memorial Church shared about opportunities for local action at the intersection of climate justice and immigration.

After a meet-and-greet on the patio (with vegetarian and vegan pizzas and snacks supplied by the UUCC Climate Team), we embarked on a trash-collecting mission around the Owen Brown Interfaith Center.

We picked up candy wrappers, single-serve chip bags, plastic bags, McDonald’s cups, and dozens of water bottles. We even collected roofing materials, a long pole, and an umbrella.

We assembled these items into a found art sculpture titled Trash Tree (2022), positioned along the edge of the woods.

This installation is available to view at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center until Sunday, May 1. You can find Trash Tree near the shed by the upper parking lot.

When you view Trash Tree, pay attention to the following:

• What materials are most abundant (plastic, aluminum, cardboard, etc…)?
• What companies are creating this reusable “trash” and how are they responsible for climate forced migration?