When my younger brother was born, my mom planted a spruce tree that was about the same length as her new baby boy.

As we grew up, we watched the tree grow too. It wasn't just another tree. It had a story attached to it.

Years later, I thought about what it would be like if every newborn baby in Central Saanich had a similar story. What if a family planted a tree for their baby and watched the tree grow as their child grew?

I think having a story attached to a tree changes the way we see it. It becomes less likely that we will simply chop it down without much thought. It means something to us.

That thinking eventually led me, as a councillor, to initiate Central Saanich Tree Appreciation Day in 2014.

The District continues to hold a planting event, which is great. But my hope has always been that Tree Appreciation Day would grow beyond a municipally sponsored event and become a wider community tradition. Families, neighbours and community groups can plant trees and create their own stories.

The spruce my mom planted is now about fifty years old. It won't live forever, but it has a different significance because it went from being another tree to being a tree with a story attached to my brother.

Tomorrow is Tree Appreciation Day in Central Saanich. The District will be holding its annual tree planting, and I'll be there.

But Tree Appreciation Day doesn't have to happen only at a District event. Maybe tomorrow is also a good day to plant a tree of your own.

Give it a story. Then watch it grow.