By seeing less, I've seen more

By Peter McDonald 

My desk is beside a window, outside of which is a well-established tree. I’m no botanist so I won’t even begin to suggest what type of tree it is other than say it’s a deciduous one.

Being winter it's currently barren, leaving – no pun intended – a magnificence of branch architecture for all to see. It grows from a footpath adjacent to the busy Pacific Highway – a hardly conducive prosperity environment – and it’s been ‘managed’ by the council to minimise danger to pedestrians. In a matter of weeks, as it has done for many years, it will replenish with foliage that envelops its core in defiance of its endured adversities.

Like many things in life, it being stripped back to basics enables me to see and consider it for what it is. Branches are a fundamental and vital feature of trees, providing a multitude of benefits that contribute to their growth, survival, reproduction, and significance.

MEA’s state and territory committees are the branches to the HQ trunk and do likewise for the association. I’ll explain how.

The branches of a tree capture, distribute, reproduce, allocate resources, structurally support, create habitat, prevent erosion, nourish the atmosphere, add recreational value, and may hold cultural or symbolic significance.

Where a tree’s branches allow the capture of sunlight from various angles to facilitate photosynthesis thus providing the tree with the necessary energy to grow and thrive, the member committees in each state and territory provide local nourishment at an industry roots level.

Tree branches support the distribution of leaves throughout the tree's canopy. MEA’s committees support the distribution of a sense of belonging, opportunity to come together and education through the local events industry.

Flowers and fruits borne by tree branches are crucial for a tree's reproductive success. The seeds sown by MEA committees play a pivotal role in the dispersal of information and opportunity, and regeneration of the sector.

A branching structure allows for the efficient transport of resources between a tree’s roots and leaves. MEA’s branches likewise underwrite a balanced and optimal growth pattern, and ensure the flow of information both into and out of management and Board.

Branches provide structural support to the tree, helping it withstand environmental forces. The branching pattern helps dissipate the forces applied to the tree, reducing the risk of breakage or uprooting. Two words for the industry: ‘2020’ and ‘2021’.

The complex branching structure of trees creates habitats that enable others’ prosperity. The activities orchestrated by MEA’s state and territory groups produce overall biodiversity within their local ecosystems.

Trees with extensive branching systems help stabilise soil and prevent erosion. Their roots hold the soil in place, reducing the risk of landslides and soil degradation. The labyrinth that is the national MEA community of all segments of the event industry for events of all types is strong because the branches bind local event workforces.

The branching structure enhances a tree's capacity to capture and store carbon, mitigating the impacts of climate change. MEA’s committees seek to absorb the trials and tribulations that impact the events sector and produce solutions to facilitate the production of resilience, network and energy – the oxygen the industry needs to survive and thrive.

Trees with well-developed branches enhance the landscape and make outdoor spaces more comfortable and inviting for people. MEA’s committees, very simply, add value to and make the events community a better place.

Trees with distinctive branching patterns often hold cultural, spiritual, and symbolic significance in various societies and religions. They can represent strength, growth, interconnectedness, and the passage of time. I’m sure by now you get the picture.

My point? I have a couple. First and foremost, thank you to everyone who is currently a branch committee member. You’re vital to the MEA ‘trunk’. Secondly, we’re in need of more members wanting to become a ‘leaf’ on a MEA committee ‘branch’ in a few different locations. If you’re someone who values and would like to consolidate MEA’s ongoing growth, survival, reproduction, and significance, please get in touch with HQ.

The quality of soil to a tree’s health is what members are to an association’s health. The nourishment that goes in impacts what goes out. It doesn’t just happen. If you want MEA to be and look healthy so it can be what you need it to be for your own benefit, fertilise it with your time and effort.

With Spring on the horizon, it's bloom time. A tree can be mighty impressive and effective with full branches. MEA is no different.