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00:00:00 - Informed consent

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Partial Transcript: First I'm going to talk a little bit about my project so that you know what's going to happen...

Segment Synopsis: Michelle describes topics and goal of research, as well as how the interview will be used.

Keywords: Informed consent

00:01:03 - Introduction

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Partial Transcript: My name is Lisandro Grané, and I am from Argentina, the city of Buenos Aires, and I'm 43 years old. I have two kids...

Segment Synopsis: Michelle establishes setting and date, and thanks Lisandro for speaking with her. Lisandro briefly introduces himself. He is the executive director for the non-profit organization Un Arbol Para Mi Vereda, a project he started about five and a half years ago.

Keywords: Parque Natural Lago Lugano; Un Arbol Para Mi Vereda

00:02:56 - Inspired by birth of son

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Partial Transcript: Right after the moment that my first son was born, I felt the need of more trees for the city, in order to give my son a healthier environment for him to grow up...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro tells of how he was inspired by the birth of his first child. He realized that Buenos Aires has very few green spaces, even though it is a big city.

Keywords: Human-nature connection; Lack of trees

00:04:07 - Journey to tree production

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Partial Transcript: Well, I actually I started with los residuos, separacion de residuos, and I started producing my own compost.

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro describes his journey from simply separating his waste, to eventually producing his own trees.

Keywords: Compost

00:04:38 - Importance of trees

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Partial Transcript: Why trees and not other plants?

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro describes the importance of trees compared to other plants and discusses native trees.

Keywords: Ecosystem services; Native trees

00:06:21 - Learning to produce trees

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Partial Transcript: The thing is that, the trees are expensive so I started to produce them myself.

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro tells of how he learned to produce trees.

Keywords: Tree production

00:06:51 - Beginning of Un Arbol Para Mi Vereda

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Partial Transcript: Once we had enough, we started planting in our neighborhood, but always on request.

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro describes how the organization got its name, the importance of a connection between human, street, and tree, and how their Facebook fan page helped the organization gain visibility.

Keywords: Human-nature connection; Motivation; Plant care

00:09:39 - Growing as an organization

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Partial Transcript: We started to receive, you know, requests from companies, or even governments, to work with them or form them...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro describes how they grew as an organization and started to receive requests to work with other organizations, companies and institutions.

Keywords: Collaboration

00:11:04 - Importance of fun

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Partial Transcript: We always say that it is sustainable only if it is fun...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro emphasizes the importance of having fun while working.

00:12:23 - Tree production project with the city

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Partial Transcript: What's a big project you're working with the government on, now?

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro describes their tree production at the green house at the CIFA (Centro de Información y Formación Ambiental), and related programs.

Keywords: Government; Tree production

00:13:40 - Sons of the crisis

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Partial Transcript: We always say that we are sons of the crisis, because we learned to produce trees and create green spaces without any money, with only our enthusiasm...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro describes their work in relation to their finances.

Keywords: Finances

00:15:12 - Planting trees in the city

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Partial Transcript: Where are these trees going to be planted?...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro talks about where the trees will be planted.

Keywords: City; Comunas; Parks

00:16:37 - City produces exotic trees

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Partial Transcript: There are also other greenhouses. The city has a couple of greenhouses...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro talks about how the city produces non-native trees as well, and has yet to commit to planting only native trees.

Keywords: Exotic trees; Native trees; Urban landscape

00:17:45 - Lack of green spaces in Buenos Aires

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Partial Transcript: Why does the city have to plant 20,000 trees every year?...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro says the city of Buenos Aires has less than half the amount of green space per person than what the World Health Organization recommends. Lisandro thinks government goals are ambitious.

Keywords: Government; Green spaces; WHO

00:21:11 - From "illegal" activity to hired by the government

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Partial Transcript: We choose to be a hands-on organization. We cannot wait for the government to do what's needed to be done...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro further discusses the beginning of the organization and a time when planting trees in sidewalks without government permission was illegal. They helped change these laws, and now work with the city.

Keywords: Dirección de Arbolado Urbano; Law

00:23:39 - Finding space to plant trees

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Partial Transcript: Going back to the city planting trees, do you think there is space to plant that many trees in Buenos Aires?...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro says that the city is growing quickly, and shopping malls are built in the few empty spaces. However, in the south part of the city, there is still room to plant trees, because no one wants to build shopping malls there, as it is close to the slums.

Keywords: Gentrification; Urbanization

00:25:34 - Teaching tree cultivation to people living in slums

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Partial Transcript: You mentioned that you guys teach people in the nearby neighborhoods how to plant trees. Why do you think it's important for those people in those neighborhoods to learn that skill?

Segment Synopsis: Nearby neighborhoods have even less green space per inhabitant than the rest of the city. Tree cultivation could be a marketable skill. This is a social, environmental, and economic project.

Keywords: Environmental justice

00:29:23 - Planting trees is the future

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Partial Transcript: There are lots of possibilities to develop a job out of caring for the planet. This is the future for me...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro believes the future involves environmental work, to reestablish life on the planet, by planting native trees. This is also a business opportunity.

Keywords: Environmental work; Future

00:30:24 - Loss of human-nature connection

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Partial Transcript: The old way of thinking, you know, the destructivism, the wild capitalism, is the old way. And it's running into it's own annihilation.

Segment Synopsis: Producing trees is the way to re-establish the human-nature connection.

Keywords: Capitalism; Ecosystem; Nature; Spiritual

00:32:01 - Need for government involvement

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Partial Transcript: And thank God now the government is paying attention to us, you know? I mean, we could keep going without the government, that even gives you power you know, to be against the law

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro acknowledges that there is something powerful about doing work against or without the support of the government, but also that people need to feed their families.

Keywords: Government

00:32:48 - Government only cares about appearances

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Partial Transcript: What do you think of the government's role in these kinds of environmental problems?

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro believes politicians only care about environmental problems when it helps them get elected. But in the end, he says he does not mind. Some trees are still planted, and it's fun. At least the government cares enough to pay him for his work.

Keywords: Government; Politics

00:36:11 - The need to change our way of life

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Partial Transcript: So there's this problem where the government is putting some money into this kind of thing, but you don't think they really care. Do you think, I don't know, is that OK? Is that enough? Do you think in order for more change to happen the government needs to care more, or?...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro believes what the government is doing now is better than nothing. However, in the future, as these environmental problems grow, if more is not done, he believes there will be consequences for the human race. He says all of us humans need to take this problem seriously, change our mindset, and work with nature rather than take advantage of nature.

Keywords: Culture; Fragility of life; Future; Government; Human extinction

00:42:17 - Story of tree-planting event for city officers

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Partial Transcript: How can our government take care of life, if they cannot water a tree? You saw what happened today...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro describes an event where city officers were asked to plant trees as a way to show commitment to environmental issues. Officers are given trees, which sit in a dark room for days without being watered. He asks, how can we expect them to take care of human problems when they can't take care of a single tree?

Keywords: Government; Politicians; Society

00:44:52 - Learning to care about the environment through work

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Partial Transcript: So, through your work with Un Arbol, do you think your perspective has changed since when you started, compared to now?

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro describes how his perspective has changed since starting his work with Un Árbol Para Mi Vereda. He says five years ago he was not so concerned for the environment. After his first child was born, he started getting involved with different environmental issues, and through his job, developed a different perspective.

Keywords: Perspective; Philosophy; Work

00:46:49 - Different types of environmentalism

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Partial Transcript: I'm not as combative... I'm not in the rage zone but I am into bridging gaps. That's what I do. I enjoy sitting at the table with the government or with big companies that want to do something for the environment.

Segment Synopsis: He describes how in their organization there are many types of environmentalists, those who want to change the world radically, and those who are looking more at the business side of things. He says because of his age, he knows enthusiasm can at some point end, but the fuel of money, with the ability to make a living, can sustain the organization. He also discusses the importance of cooperation to achieve goals.

Keywords: Collaboration; Common goals; Cooperation; Differences; Diplomacy; Enthusiasm; Future; Paid work

00:52:19 - Monsanto story

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Partial Transcript: I have an example. You know this company Monsanto? You know what they do? OK. They called us to have a meeting because they wanted to plant 4,000 trees...

Segment Synopsis: Lisandro tells the story of having a meeting with Monsanto, who wanted to plant trees to offset the carbon output from their trucks. However, when they learned that Monsanto wanted to put the logo of Un Árbol Para Mi Vereda next to Monsanto's, they decided not to work with Monsanto, in order to maintain the integrity of their organization. Lisandro further discusses the challenges and importance of working with organizations that don't share common beliefs.

Keywords: Carbon footprint; Greenwashing; Logos; Monsanto