Rachel Summers, Owner of Curious Wilds Forest, Lifts Neighborhood Spirits by Identifying Trees with Sidewalk Chalk

April 9, 2020

Last year, in the early days of the worldwide lockdown due to COVID-19, an English arborist started adding a charming touch to her neighborhood by labeling local trees with sidewalk chalk.

This story gained traction when Elizabeth Archer tweeted,

To whomever is chalking names and descriptions of trees on the pavements across Walthamstow: I love you.
This made my heart sing today.

Over 120,000 people from all over the world liked Elizabeth’s tweet, which included two photos.

The first image showed a label for a London Plane tree on the sidewalk, which read:

My favorite! Takes pollution out of the air.

The next image showed a tree labeled,

Sycamore (Platanus spp.) - a natural survivor.
Grows anywhere!

The next day, Elizabeth posted on Twitter,

Just to let you all know, I found her.
(In about 10 minutes - because Walthamstow people are wonderful)

It's the brilliant @curiouswilds!!!

@Curiouswilds is Rachel Summers, who runs Curious Wilds Forest School - a place to explore, connect, and have fun with nature, embracing local urban wild spaces.

A level 3 qualified Forest School Practitioner and trainee level 4 Forest School Trainer, Rachel was originally an indoor primary school teacher before discovering the joy of learning outdoors.

Rachel likes to say,

My hands are never quite mud-free.