Chris Pearce

Chris Pearce - Tree Care Team member since 2022

Chris Pearce is an invaluable member of the street tree care team, meeting the practical and logistic challenges in the repair of posts and straps and cylindrical wire guards. He says “I don’t mind being a small cog. I like doing the technical bit, making something work, finding practical solutions. “I enjoy the learning curve involved in the work we do and being part of a weekly group meeting. I also love meeting the sponsors who come out of their houses. They are always delighted - once Street Trees for Living bonafides are established!”

Chris was originally from a family of North London nurserymen, both professional and amateur. ”As a child I remember a greenhouse crammed with tomatoes, and half the lawn devoted to chrysanthemums. Much later I became a little bit of an environmentalist. Greta gets my vote. Her bravery! sitting outside the Swedish parliament every Friday in the cold.” He speaks from first-hand knowledge of Scandinavian weather, as life took Chris to Oslo for most of his adult life. He worked in IT, specialising in data-modelling.

As a long-term Norwegian resident Chris was especially impressed by the country’s system of street committees, for which annual elections must be held by law. The committees are responsible for “getting streets ready for winter and for summer”. Most hold events twice a year during which neighbours clean up the streets and party. Chris is now retired and back in Sydenham, but his time in Oslo inspired him to do something about the neglected street tree near his home “growth pushing through a wire cage filled with rubbish”. He Googled for further info and stumbled across Street Trees for Living. The rest, as they say, is history.