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This Is What Happens When You Give Trees Email Addresses

July 15, 2015

The city of Melbourne assigned trees email addresses so citizens could report problems.

Credit: Jennifer Morrow / Flickr

Instead, people wrote thousands of love letters to their favorite trees.

"My dearest Ulmus," one message began. "As I was leaving St. Mary's College today I was struck, not by a branch, but by your radiant beauty. You must get these messages all the time. You’re such an attractive tree."

This is an excerpt of an email someone wrote to a green-leaf elm, one of thousands of messages in an ongoing correspondence between the people of Melbourne, Australia, and the city's trees.

City Officials assigned the trees ID numbers and email addresses in 2013 as part of a program designed to make it easier for citizens to report problems like dangerous branches. Instead, they've been getting these...

Some emails come from outside of Melbourne, like this one from the U.S.

And the best part? The trees respond...

Some people choose to discuss politics...

Others have questions about biology.

The chair of Melbourne's Environment Portfolio, Councillor Arron Wood told the Atlantic that these emails are an "unintended but positive consequence."

"The email interactions reveal the love Melburnians have for our trees."

(h/t) The Atlantic