Ms. Ricarda McDonald, the person in charge of the local office, is a tough and passionate artist who always has a smile on her face. In March 2001, the seedling arrived safely in Vancouver, Canada and was temporarily planted in a pot.
On the 10th of May 2001, Ms. Ricarda McDonald conducted the workshop for 29 students in the 6th and 7th grades of Fromme Elementary School. She introduced them the Kaki Tree Project and they wrote haiku about the persimmon tree and made Origami persimmons together with the help of Motoko Ogawa, a Japanese woman who lived there. Although at that time the seedling was planted in a pot, it was full of life and seemed to be even ready for producing buds.
The tree planting was originally planned in March 2002 and with the efforts of Ms. Ricarda it was finally concluded that the Margrave School to be the planting site. However, it was postponed due to the school’s busy schedule with other events. The tree, in the meantime, was kept at a local gardener. After many twists and turns, Ms. Ricarda’s efforts paid off and the tree planting ceremony was going to be held at the Margrave School in March 2003. Yet again, it was postponed until 16th of May due to the Iraq War that broke out in March. The executive committee member from Japan who planned to attend the ceremony had difficulty traveling and in the end could not attend the ceremony. Also, Motoko Ogawa, who cooperated with the project from the very beginning, passed away due to illness. On the 16th of May 2003, the day of tree planting ceremony, Motoko’s friends participated in the ceremony and the tree was at last able to take root in West Vancouver.
In June 2005, we visited Margrave School when we participated in the tree planting ceremony at Collingwood School, Canada. Our visit this time was accompanied by the family members of Motoko Ogawa and the executive committee member of the project who was also a friend of Motoko, and all of us could deepen our friendship with Ms. Ricarda. The tree is planted in a sunny place and is growing steadily.
