The city of Melbourne expects to lose nearly 50% of its urban forest over the next 20 years.<\/p>\n

In an effort to bolster awareness of this and to encourage it\u2019s citizens to help in creating a \u201ccity within a forest,\u201d the city has mapped out all of it\u2019s 70,000 trees, given each one a unique ID number, and invited residents to write the tree of their choice, with the tree actually writing back.<\/p>\n

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Here are some of the letters that people have sent in to trees:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to stop leaving your tree garbage all over the goddamn place! Every day you\u2019re dropping crap on my driveway and I\u2019m sick of finding it on my car and having to clean it off all the time. Knock it off or I\u2019m going to chop you the hell down, I mean it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the last seven years you\u2019ve stood outside of my front window. Each day I sat at my desk working and you were always there, my constant companion, and over time you became a symbol of my little house. Whenever I was really looking forward to getting home, and then would see you from down the street, I’d just relax, knowing I was almost where I wanted to be. \u00a0You always had a calming effect on me, and after all these years living in Melbourne I feel like you\u2019ve been my best friend. I\u2019m moving to London now, and I think I\u2019m going to miss you more than anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou happen to be at a really convenient location, in a park right between the pub and my flat. I must have pissed on you a hundred times over the years. Did it bother you that I did that? I never thought so. I figured you understood, and I always liked that moment or relief, leaning against you, my forehead and arm resting against your trunk, just the sound of my piss being absorbed into the ground. It was a timeout, you know? Anyway, I just wanted to thank you and let you know that you\u2019re a bloody great tree!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name is Randy and I\u2019m in grade three. I really like trees and think they are important. You offer shade, help to make air and let animals live in your branches for free. Can you talk to the animals? Also, can you talk to other trees, and like in Lord of the Rings, will you be able to one day rise up and help fight against terror with the rest of the world? Thank you for all you do for the planet! You\u2019re a hero!\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cBack in 1996 I carved my girlfriend and my initials into your trunk. He name was Marie Bell and we were just graduating from high school. Things didn\u2019t last very long, as we both went our separate ways after school and lost touch. Anyway, I recently moved back to town to help look after my mother, and now I pass by you nearly every day. You always remind me of young Marie Bell, and so after nearly two decades of barely ever thinking about her, I think about her everyday. I wonder if she ever thinks of me, or even remembers that night I carved that heart around our initials.\u201d<\/p>\n

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