Story Archive

Hug a Tree

When the city of Fort Myers, Fla., started talking about cutting down a 100-year-old giant ficus tree, Karen Cooper intervened to save it — by marrying the tree. She got the idea when she heard about women in Mexico who’d protested deforestation by marrying trees. “So I saw that and I thought, ‘Oh we should marry the ficus tree — kind of giggle, giggle,” she said. “But everyone said it’s a really good idea, so I said, ‘OK, let’s do it.’” Cooper, along with several other women, vowed to honor and protect the tree in a wedding held with about 50 guests present, including City Councilman Fred Burson, who also vowed to save the tree. Three days later, the city’s Beautification Advisory Board voted to trim the tree instead of removing it. (MS/Tampa Bay Times, Ft. Myers News-Press) ...Now the newlyweds need to deal with the significant age gap.