In acknowledgement of the 75th anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 30 communities in Oregon have committed to plant “peace trees.”
The initiative is led by Hiroshima survivor Hideko Tamura-Snider who now resides in Medford. In 2007, Tamura-Snider helped fund the One Sunny Day Initiative, named after the children’s book she authored nearly a decade earlier. The OSDI aims to “educate the public about the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and plant seeds of peace, hope and reconciliation among people of the world” and to work towards nuclear nonproliferation.
In their most recent project, OSDI partnered with the Japanese organization
Green Legacy Hiroshima, which was established to care for the hibakujumoku – revered trees which survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. The hibakujumoku are sent as seeds and saplings as symbols of peace around the world. The trees not only survived the bombings, but sprouted new greenery within days.
Oregon now boasts one of the largest collections of the peace trees outside of Japan. Tamura-Snider convinced Oregon Community Trees to request and germinate seeds. The seedlings were then cared for by OCT member Jennifer Killian and her colleagues at the Corvallis Parks and Recreation department.
OCT board member Jim Gersbach then reached out to the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Urban and 
Community Forestry Program to organize the distribution of the seedlings around Oregon. The distribution was provided at no cost, so long as the seedlings were planted in public places. Priority was given to Trees Cities USA and the Tree Campuses USA in Oregon, as they have proven an appreciation for and capability for caring for such special trees.
One tree was planted last year at OSU’s Asian and Pacific Cultural Center, and one more is planned for Avery Park in the coming months. Requests for the trees were made across the state, and Oregon planted a total of 45 peace trees. A map of the locations of the peace trees can be found here.
Public ceremonies commemorating the anniversaries of the bombings, along with the planting of the peace trees 75 years on, were cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. However, communities are hoping for future dedication ceremonies once large public gatherings are once again possible.
By Emily Weninger
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