8 Living Memorials Shaped Out of Trees

Building a memorial out of stone and concrete is one way to pay tribute to a person, but a truly unique and symbolic way of memorializing somebody or commemorating an event is to plant trees. A stone monument may last longer, but trees are a living legacy that will grow bigger, stronger, and more mature year after year. Here are eight examples of living memorials from different parts of the world. Pine Forest Shaped Like Italy This small pine forest, shaped like the map of Italy, is located on the mountain slopes overlooking the Great Plain of Castelluccio in Umbria, in the Apennine Mountains of central Italy. The pines were planted in 1961 on the occasion of the 100th year anniversary of the unification of Italy. Photo credit: Gwendolyn Stansbury/Flickr Minnesota Forest Deep in Lake of the Woods County, in the US state of Minnesota, lies a massive forest shaped exactly like the state. It was created by an engineer of the DNR Division of Forestry in the 1990s, when he was asked to clear some parts of the forest to harvest timber. Using a simple map and compass, the engineer Bill Lockner mapped out the outline, and cleared out the trees around it to create the shape of the state. Heart-Shaped Forest Located near Wickwar, in south Gloucestershire, England, this oak forest shaped in the shape of a heart was planted by Winston Howes, a farmer, as a tribute to his wife who died of heart failure in 1995. Months after her death, Howes marked out an acre-long heart on his farm with the point facing in the direction of her childhood home. He then planted oak saplings all around. The trees have grown now but the curious shape can only be seen from the air. The small meadow had remained a family secret until about four years ago when it was discovered by a hot air balloonist. Photo credit: Adam Gray Guitar Forest This guitar-shaped forest in the fertile plains of Argentina’s Pampas is another labor of love.