Survivor Tree Seedlings are Donated to Communities
Last updated on September 12, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 12, 2016
MEDIA INQUIRIES
Kate Monaghan/Kaylee Skaar | (212) 312-8800 | press@911memorial.org
Survivor Tree Seedlings are Donated to Communities that Have Endured Tragedy, Show Resilience
San Bernardino, Orlando and France to Receive Seedlings as Symbol of Hope
(New York) September 12, 2016 – The victims of tragedies in two U.S. cities and one country will be honored with the offering of “Survivor Tree” seedlings, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum announced today.
San Bernardino Calif., Orlando and France were selected to receive seedlings this year. The communities have committed to nurturing these trees to serve as landmarks symbolizing resiliency and hope.
The cities and country have been rocked by extreme violence and terrorism. There were 14 people killed in the San Bernardino shooting of Dec. 2, 2015. In Florida, 49 lives were claimed in an Orlando nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016.
More than 200 people died in two unrelated mass killings months apart in France. In Paris, 130 died in coordinated terror shootings and bombings on Nov. 13, 2015 and 86 were killed in Nice on July 14, 2016 when a man used a truck to mow down revelers celebrating the national holiday of Bastille Day.
“After 9/11, the Survivor Tree became a symbol of our country’s fortitude and resilience,” 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels said. “The seedling distribution program was created in an effort to embody this spirit for communities that have endured suffering. As the trees grow and thrive, we hope they will inspire the people of France, Orlando and San Bernardino as they continue to recover and heal.”
The Survivor Tree has become a symbol of the nation’s spirit of hope and healing as well as strength and resilience in the wake of the 2001 attacks. The tree got its name after it was nursed back to health when it was pulled from World Trade Center rubble. It was later replanted at the 9/11 Memorial.
In September 2013, the Memorial began the tree seedling distribution program in partnership with Stamford, Conn.-based Bartlett Tree Expert Company and John Bowne High School in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens.
Bartlett, which donates its resources to support the program, harvested seeds from the Survivor Tree in the fall of 2011. John Bowne High School cares for the seedlings as part of the school’s agriculture curriculum.
Learn more about the Survivor Tree and the seedling program here.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL & MUSEUM
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is the nonprofit organization that oversees operations for the 9/11 Memorial and 9/11 Memorial Museum. Located on eight of the 16 acres of the World Trade Center site, the Memorial and Museum remember and honor the 2,983 people who were killed in the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993. The Memorial plaza design consists of two reflecting pools formed in the footprints of the original Twin Towers surrounded by white oak trees. The Museum displays more than 10,000 personal and monumental objects linked to the events of 9/11, while presenting intimate stories of loss, compassion, reckoning and recovery that are central to telling the story of the attacks and aftermath. It also explores the global impact of 9/11 and its continuing significance through education programs, public programs, live talks and film features that cover contemporary topics for diverse audiences. For more information or to reserve a ticket to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, please visit www.911memorial.org.