Scooting through a Mexico City, Mexico, neighborhood on his electric skateboard, Arturo Hernández spots a likely target for action. Days later, he and others are swinging sledgehammers to break concrete off the roots of an ash tree. This is El Ejercito de Arboles—“The Tree Army.”
“We do not need permits to liberate the tree,” Arturo Hernández tells one of two officers who stop to question him. “It’s as if you asked me to have a permit to pick up trash from the street,” he says with a grin.
One officer responds with his own smile. He turns to his partner, and they walk away. The hammering resumes.
Hernández is El Comandante, commander of the Tree Army. He’s a community activist who developed a following over years of tackling the city’s problems in humorous online posts. He launched The Tree Army in May after hearing complaints from his followers about vandalized trees in their neighborhoods.
The Tree Army’s mission is to protect and improve Mexico City’s urban forest. Sometimes that means chipping away at unauthorized concrete, confronting illegal cutting, or planting trees in areas of need.
“I always tell people, if we can’t take care of the tree in front of our home, how can we expect to save a place like the Amazon?” Hernández says.
Trees are essential assets in cities. They provide cooling shade, reduce pollution, mitigate water run-off, and contribute to green space. Urban tree expert María Toledo Garibaldi praises The Tree Army’s work. She says groups like this help make up for government inaction.
Launching The Tree Army was a natural move for Hernández. A decade ago, he launched a social media-based campaign that takes on community issues through humor and satire. His videos feature him taunting cars obstructing bike lanes and returning garbage to people who litter.
Hernández says he drew more than 100,000 views for each of his first few Tree Army videos. The “army” itself is small. It’s an informal group of five or six environmental activists, arborists, and residents.
He fields more than 15 messages per day from people reporting vandalized trees throughout the city. Common complaints include businesses cutting down trees to improve visibility, people incorrectly trimming trees, and people pouring concrete over the soil at a tree’s base, perhaps to add parking or to avoid maintenance like picking up after dogs or clearing out litter.
Hernández says the ash tree he and his followers were trying to free was suffering from concrete that a nearby food business poured on its roots. The business wanted to add parking for delivery motorcycles.
After 20 minutes of intense hammering, the roots of the tree began to appear through the broken concrete. Some neighbors crowded around.
Hernández is quick to recruit bystanders. “Do one of you guys want to take a swing?” he asks. “The people that are most affected by this is you.”
When the ash tree was finally free of concrete, The Tree Army carried the rubble to a truck to be hauled away.
Humberto Cruz lives in the neighborhood. He joined the action after seeing Hernández’s call on social media.
“I have a son, and I want the best for him. One of the few things I can do is take care of the environment for him. He’s the future and he is going to be able to enjoy this,” Cruz says, pointing to the ash tree. That attitude may resonate with Christians who seek to be good stewards of God’s creation.
Not everyone supports The Tree Army. Hernández says he’s been chased and threatened. But he approaches negative encounters with humor. He views it as an opportunity to educate.
“We are called The Tree Army,” he says, “because sometimes these are battles.”
What do you think? The Tree Army seeks to stop unauthorized and illegal actions that harm trees. Communities need trees to thrive. The government doesn’t seem able or willing to protect the trees. But Hernández and his supporters aren’t authorized either. They may be more like vigilantes, who act outside the law. Are their actions praiseworthy?
