The Tree of Life activity is a core element of both the Listening to One Another Family and School Program. Over the course of fourteen sessions for the Family Program, or 6 sessions for the school program, participants draw different parts of the tree, and incorporate a strength related to the session’s theme and activities. For instance, Session 4 of the Family Program is about resilience. For that activity, participants add in the fruits, acorns, and nuts of their Tree of Life, and within these fruits, acorns, and nuts, participants write down examples of resilience or moments when they were resilient. The Tree of Life activity aims to bring together themes and teachings from all of the sessions so that youth and adult participants can visualize the range of their individual and family’s strengths, like their culture, values, skills, and hopes for the future. At the end of the program, all the trees are gathered onto a mural, that becomes a “Forest of Strengths.”

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