By Tanya Steele
Gone, but not forgotten, a backyard project that began in Upwey has now expanded to include three other states in its mission to honour and remember lives that have ended too soon.
The Tree of Souls has continues to unite the parents and families of the bereavement community nationally, with people from Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia recently pledging to be part of the grief project.
Organiser Rineke Leigh from Upwey said the growth is fantastic for the group.
“I am finding people are coming organically,” she said.
“As we grow and things like that, people are hearing about it and connecting with the fact that ‘gosh I wish that was near me’.”
In April, the group confirmed a tree of souls would be hosted in Hobart, Tasmania this Christmas after other trees were also confirmed in March for both Taree, New South Wales and Lewiston, South Australia.
Toni-Maria will host a tree in honour of her daughter Tiesha in Hobart and Arona, a grandmother will honour baby Bodhi, is set to host in Taree on the mid-north coast.
Arona also organises Books for Buns in the NICU, a charity which provides a beautiful bag with books for parents with a baby in NiCU to read to them.
In South Australia, Sister in laws Deborah and Marianne will be joining Melbourne and Perth by hosting a Tree of Souls in Lewiston this year.
Every year, the Tree of Souls project involves parents giving the group an image of their child which is then turned into a bauble and placed on the tree, in an act of remembrance and solace.
The project has grown from being held in a small residential garden in 2022, to a much larger endeavour at the tree in the gardens of the Tecoma Uniting Church Gardens in Tecoma.
The tree hosts the images of loved ones over the festive season in December and often there is also a vigil held closer to Christmas Day as well.
The Tree of Souls has slowly expanded from its smaller social media presence to a dedicated website and the project began crossing state lines last year.
Late 2024 saw Western Australia host a tree in Bassendean after a grief conference connected organiser Rineke with a local named Merle.
Last year, Tacoma’s Tree of Souls held 350 baubles, while the Bassendean tree in Perth held around 70.
When it is hosted annually at Christmas in the Tecoma Uniting Church there is a board on display in the garden with a dedicated list of resources for people who happen to walk by the tree.
Rineke said getting trees started is not too intimidating and that Tree of Souls volunteers will help people get started.
“They don’t need to be too scared of it, we do all the background work,” she said.
The overall vision for the Tree of Souls is that everyone would have a tree to visit within travelling distance.
“Our states are very big places but there is plenty of space – maybe this year the other states could come on board,” said Rineke.
“This is all a gift,” she said.
