Love Your Tree

Who Can Participate?

Anyone and everyone. You can choose to participate as an individual OR host an event for your class or organization. Love Your Tree is a great way for individuals, families, schools, colleges, social organizations, or professional groups to get creative together while promoting positive mental wellbeing.  

What Tools Do I Need?

An open, creative mind and your favorite art supplies of any kind. Everything else you need can be downloaded here.

Like Trees in a Forest...

We are strong. We are resilient. We are all unique. We are interconnected. We bring joy. How will you express this metaphor through your art?  We can’t wait to see!

Download Program Pack
View the Love Your Tree Gallery

Get Involved

Ready to get started? View our online gallery for inspiration, or submit your artwork!

Submit Your Artwork

Step By Step

Ready to get started? Follow our guide to get involved with Love Your Tree.

Questions? 

Email us at LoveYourTree@ercpathlight.com. We want to hear from you! Whether you’re an individual artist with questions about a submission or you’re a teacher or group leader looking to implement a LYT Workshop. You can also download our FAQs.

Submit Your Artwork
  • Step 1: Download the LYT Program Pack that best meets your needs.

    The Program Packs contain resources and activities to help you learn about the Love Your Tree themes and provide you with important information about participating. Complete the activities on your own or host a Love Your Tree workshop for your school or organization to get involved. Love Your Tree is flexible and adaptable to almost any setting or situation.

  • Step 2: Have fun creating an original piece of art that celebrates who you are.

    Use the activity sheets and other Love Your Tree resources to inspire your answer to the phrase, “Like a tree, I am…” and then start creating! You might choose to paint, sing, write, build, draw or film your creation – all forms of art are welcome. Artwork can be created individually or during group workshops, classes or other gatherings.

  • Step 3: Submit your art and have a positive impact!

    Love Your Tree entries will be added to the virtual gallery and showcased for all to enjoy. Remember…Artwork is a broad term that includes ANY application of your creativity and imagination! Entries may include art in all its forms. Download the FAQ sheet for details about how to submit different types of art. Submissions are featured in the Love Your Tree Gallery!

  • Step 4: Share the Love.

    The most important part of Love Your Tree is that the message can be shared with others. Be sure to share about your artwork and the gallery on social media using the hashtag #LoveYourTree!

    Individuals can also spread their own Branches of Hope and Leaves of Inspiration messages directly with these shareable cards.  

Love your tree submission

The Roots of the Love Your Tree Campaign

The tree is a universal symbol for growth, resilience, strength and the beauty of individual differences and diversity. Just like humans, every tree in the forest is unique, yet trees remain connected to one another and the world around them in powerful ways.  Through participation in Love Your Tree, people of all ages are encouraged to explore the tree metaphor and share creative expressions of acceptance, gratitude for the unique form of our bodies and our lives, and the many ways in which we get stronger and heal through connection with others.

In the past, Love Your Tree has focused on highlighting body diversity and has helped thousands of participants use art to embrace positive body image for themselves and others. This year, Love Your Tree is growing in new and wonderful ways that provide new content and make room for a celebration of diversity that extends beyond body image to overall individual and community mental wellness.

View the Gallery

Downloadable Materials

Find everything you need to get involved here.

Program Packs & Slides
 

Single Downloads
 

Continuing Education Events

Community Events

Join us for Q+A sessions, workshops, and more!

Love Your Tree: Creativity & Connection Event Series

This year, we are excited to invite you to our first annual Love Your Tree: Creativity & Connection Event Series, beginning on September 23 at 6 PM MDT.

This series will create connections and a supportive space for participants during a time of transition and re-engaging with the world in new ways …whether you’re heading back to school, returning to the office, or taking a first trip in a long while…

For many of us, art is the prominent way we know how to express our soul’s deepest truths. For the past 15 years, Love Your Tree has focused on creative expression while also highlighting body diversity and helping thousands of participants use art and other creative outlets to embrace positive body image for themselves and others. Join the movement!

Resources + Further Reading

  • Articles
  • Books + Podcasts
  • Poems
    • "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer begins: "I think that I shall never see, A poem lovely as a tree."
       
    • “Advice from a tree” by Ilan Shamir

    Dear Friend,
    Stand Tall and Proud
    Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
    Reflect the light of a greater source
    Think long term
    Go out on a limb
    Remember your place among all living beings
    Embrace with joy the changing seasons
    For each yields its own abundance
    The Energy and Birth of Spring
    The Growth and Contentment of Summer
    The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
    The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter
    Feel the wind and the sun
    And delight in their presence
    Look up at the moon that shines down upon you
    And the mystery of the stars at night.
    Seek nourishment from the good things in life
    Simple pleasures
    Earth, fresh air, light
    Be content with your natural beauty
    Drink plenty of water
    Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes
    Be flexible
    Remember your roots
    Enjoy the view

  • Songs
  • Quotes

    “… when you go out into the woods and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are whatever. And you look at the tree and you allow it. You appreciate it. You see why it is the way it is. You sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it. You appreciate the tree. The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying “You’re too this, or I’m too this.” That judging mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are.”  — Ram Dass, On Self Judgment
     

    “Storms make trees take deeper roots.” -Dolly Parton
     

    “One day when you wake up, you will find that you have become a forest. You have grown roots and found strength in them that no one thought you had. You have become stronger and more beautiful, full of life giving qualities. You have learned to take all the negativity around you and turn it into oxygen for easy breathing. A host of wild creatures live inside you and you call them stories. A variety of beautiful birds rest inside your mind and you call them memories. You have become an incredible self sustaining thing of epic proportions. And you should be so proud of yourself, of how far you have come from the seeds of who you used to be.” – Nikita Gill, You Have Become a Forest

Featured Partners

Eating Recovery Center is accredited through the Joint Commission. This organization seeks to enhance the lives of the persons served in healthcare settings through a consultative accreditation process emphasizing quality, value and optimal outcomes of services.

Organizations that earn the Gold Seal of Approval™ have met or exceeded The Joint Commission’s rigorous performance standards to obtain this distinctive and internationally recognized accreditation. Learn more about this accreditation here.

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