Environment Planet Earth Meet the Beautiful, Remarkable Tree That Survived 9/11 After a month under rubble, a nearly lifeless Callery pear tree was found by 9/11 workers who were determined to save it. By Melissa Breyer Melissa Breyer Former Senior Editorial Director Hunter College F.I.T., State University of New York Cornell University Melissa Breyer is Treehugger’s former senior editorial director. She is a sustainability expert and author whose work has been published by the New York Times and National Geographic, among others. Learn about our editorial process Updated September 10, 2023 The Survivor Tree in full bloom. Toshi Sasaki / Getty Images Planet Earth Conservation Weather Outdoors One can only imagine the grim job that 9/11 workers had at Ground Zero, working day in and day out to clean up the wreckage of such devastation. And one can only imagine the surprise they must have felt when, a month into the job, they discovered a bit of life sticking out from the rubble—the charred remains of a Callery pear tree. The tree was originally planted in the 1970s at the World Trade Center site and had been humming along for decades, providing shade to humans and habitat to wildlife both local and passing through. But upon its discovery in the ruins, it had little more than a few leaves issuing from a single branch, with snapped roots and burned and broken boughs. Yet the battered tree was sent to Van Cortlandt Park for convalescence under the care of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Park workers say they weren't sure the tree would make it, but the little tree that could, did. In the spring of 2002, she sprouted a riot of leaves; a dove made a nest in her boughs. When Ronaldo Vega was hired as a special project manager in 2007, he remembered the story of the tree and went to the Bronx to find it. "I fell in love with her the second I saw her," he recounts in the video below. "She was a fighter. We knew she was going to come back here." New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at a ceremonial planting of the Survivor Tree at the 9/11 Memorial area of the World Trade Center site December 22, 2010 in New York City. Mario Tama / Staff / Getty Images And so, after nine years of rehab in the Bronx, the Survivor Tree went home. Planted at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum, it thrives in a solemn place that is filled with both memories and life. Scarred but robust, she offers her branches to birds and shade to passersby—and remains a potent reminder of resilience in the face of destruction. The Survivor Tree has become a shrine of sorts. LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images "New, smooth limbs extended from the gnarled stumps, creating a visible demarcation between the tree’s past and present," notes the Museum. "Today, the tree stands as a living reminder of resilience, survival and rebirth." The 9/11 Memorial area is such a profound place. It's somber but also filled with life. The memorial pools endlessly rush with the sound of falling water; squirrels scamper everywhere; colorful, migratory warblers stop by during spring and fall to rest for a day or two. But it's a place where we are also constantly reminded of what's not there—the absences. And perhaps that's why the Survivor Tree has become such a potent attraction. It was there, it saw it all, and it lives on as a direct and living connection to what was once there. The Survivor Tree, thriving in 2022. Melissa Breyer You can see more of the beautiful story in the short video below. And if you ever make it to the memorial, give her a visit and say hello.