Birch at my window, window birch.

The title is inspired by Robert Frost (1928) poem Window Tree, the first to express the inspiration of a tree at a window. This long term photo project about the glory and funeral of the birch tree in front of my second floor Swiss city apartment, tells a story of reconnecting with nature and enjoying one’s own habitat by exploring the meaning of one tree for me, us and its visitors from one single window.

The long term photo project tells a story from the beginning of a vibrant tree at my window over seasons to its funeral. All photos are taken at the same second floor apartment in Zuerich, Switzerland.

The project started intuitively with creating beautiful moments with my terminally ill father to share our love for nature while staying far away from him. When he passed away after three years I went on to find what it is I wish to preserve and wish to share with family, friends, neighbors, governments, academics and other cultures.

After an unannounced funeral of our birch, the project developed in creating a monument, a tribute for our birch, making aware of all the different functions and emotions this tree has brought to our environment, even if I focus only on everything visual from the window during daylight. We are all part of a habitat that we help to create whether conscious or not. I try to make people feel that a tree is more than a shaped space in a garden squeezed in between houses. I photographed 13 bird species on this very tree.

Our birds, insects and the red squirrel go to other trees now, but we should pay attention. The trees they use now, will they be cared for properly? Every tree counts, bird, insects, protection should be part of private and public garden design.

This will be my second project on nature from one narrowly defined space. The first project (Balcony Safari) has been already launched. I want to get my "Window Birch" project out in due course since the tree is not there anymore, and the bulldozing of gardens is strikingly fast in our neighborhood (but also elsewhere).