They will give back more than you could imagine

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It all started when I became an ambassador for the 10 Million Trees Foundation in their joint campaign with the Ördögkatlan Festival Association. Seizing the opportunity, I asked my mother to dig a little into our family photo albums. I was sure she would find some blurry, over-flashed, red-eyed analogue photo of me standing next to a tree.

And since in our family taking such pictures was practically a tradition, my mother found not just one, but hundreds. From those hundred, I’d like to share this one. Perhaps this picture holds the most memories and the deepest emotions.

I must have been around three years old here. Just another day among the countless ones I spent at my grandparents’ place. Just the three of us. The vegetable garden, the orchard, the cactus greenhouse, and the little house. An endless stage for imagination: games, bases, trenches, battles, hideouts.

But my absolute favorite was the hundred-year-old walnut tree next to the summer kitchen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger one since. My grandpa even gave it a name: Sárika. To us, it was practically family.

Each season dressed it in a new coat, accompanying us through our days. Autumn meant oceans of leaves and never-ending walnut cracking – plenty of work, but it only deepened my love for it. Especially in summer, when “heat” still meant 28 degrees, the cool, shaded kingdom beneath it was my safe haven. From the inflatable pool set up beside our red Škoda, I would watch its vast green crown sway gently in the wind.

And in winter, when it stood bare, climbing its branches gave me the best view over the neighbors’ gardens. Just like in this photo, taken about 30 years ago – and judging by my face, I was having a pretty good time.

I grew up. My grandparents are long gone. The tree is no longer whole, but it’s still alive. It has sheltered four generations of our family, offering shade and fresh air every summer. And even when it finally dies, its trunk will nourish millions of creatures – insects, fungi, and small animals – for decades to come. If it’s left standing, maybe even thirty years after its death.

So if you can, plant trees.

They will give back more than you could imagine.

And in the meantime, please support the 10 Million Trees Foundation (10 Millió Fa Alapítvány) and their Katlan Forest Project with any donation you can. The first trees have already been planted in recent days, but their work is far from over.

That’s why I’m continuing to raise funds through this link below.

Donate here