THE COMMUNITY GRAFTING PROJECT

Cambridge, MA

Inspired by the beloved apple tree at the edge of the playground that was removed during the construction of the new Tobin Montessori and Vassal Lane Upper Schools complex in Cambridge, MA, this public art project awarded by Cambridge Arts hopes to extend the legacy of placemaking, inclusion, and community. By using cuttings that were taken from the tree just before removal, the project seeks to literally regrow a new tree from the old tree, educating and engaging students through the collective process of nurturing the tree from infancy to adolescence to maturity. Through civic participation over a series of decades we hope to establish new roots so that the “experiential DNA” of the apple tree continues onward for many years to come. The project also includes an interactive mass timber structure made from pin oaks recovered from the site as well as other New England wood species that will protect the new tree as it grows.