Trees are beautiful!  They benefit our existence in more ways than their beauty.

These large oak trees populate a city park that provides a playground, picnic areas, and living space shared by residents for sports, recreation, and quiet enjoyment for all ages.

During these times of climate panic, having an opportunity to get out in nature can be therapeutic. Communities of every size should incorporate green space that includes trees as part of the master plan. The trees will generate oxygen to support the community and provide a plethora of other benefits. If you serve in a civic capacity, encourage tree planting.

This beautiful pine tree has stood tall for ages and provides a home for birds, squirrels, and other animals.  It has served as a windbreak and helped keep a back yard cool during the summer months.  If it were harvested, it would also provide lumber for building – a house, a piece of furniture, or a shipping crate – or it could become fuel to warm a home.

It also generates oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from the air, and we need oxygen to breathe.  As we continue to destroy rain forests and deforest our land to grow crops or build cities, we are destroying the only place we have to live.

You can do something to reduce that impact.  Plant a tree in your backyard.  It may not look like this one right away, but your grandchildren or their children could use one like it for their Christmas card when they get to be your age.

Planting Advice

Make sure the type of tree you plant is appropriate for your region of the world.  Palm trees may find it difficult to survive in northern regions.

Know the purpose for your tree.  Is it to bear fruit?  Provide shade?  Add beauty?  The purpose you select aids in choosing the right tree.

Tree Trivia

These eight items of trivia about trees come from the Arbor Day Foundation:

1. The oldest tree in the United States is Methuselah, a pine tree in California that is 4,800 years old.

2. 180 million people in the United States rely on forests for clean drinking water.

3. There are 850 species of trees in the United States.

4. The average American uses seven trees each year to provide them with paper, wood, and other tree products.

5. Baseball bats are made out of wood from the ash species of trees.

6. It takes 30-40 gallons of maple tree sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.

7. Tree seedlings grow at a rate of one foot per year.

8. The biggest tree in the world is a giant sequoia in California named General Sherman. It is 102 feet in circumference and 207 feet tall.

Save Earth – Plant Trees