For Day 6 of our Green Year, we decided to make things a bit greener in our area. As a result, we have acquired seven saplings that we are going to be planting later this week to help improve the air, take some CO2 out of the atmosphere and make things a bit easier on the planet.These trees will be planted later this week near some of the trails that hikers use around our town. However, we may put one or two in our yard.
You may be asking the question of how planting trees can help the environment, so here are some bits of information about trees and all they do for the environment, and us.
- Trees absorb carbon dioxide, remove the carbon and release oxygen back into the air. This means, no trees, no oxygen, we all die. In fact, one acre of mature trees absorb the same amount of CO2 in one year, that a car being driven for 26,000 miles produces.
- Trees placed around a home in a strategic manner keep it cool and cut summer air conditioning needs by up to 50 percent.
- Trees reduce runoff by breaking rainfall, which allows the water to flow down the trunk and into the earth below the tree. This prevents stormwater from carrying pollutants into the ocean.
- Trees shield people from UV rays. The most common form of cancer in North America is skin cancer, and trees reduce UV-B exposure by 50 percent.
- Studies have found that patients in hospitals with views of trees at their window heal faster. Children with ADHD have fewer symptoms when able to see trees, and mental fatigue is reduced on individuals who have trees outside their windows.
- Homes and neighborhoods with trees in front of them have been shown to lower the violence of an area near the home.
- Trees increase property values by up to 15 percent when planted in strategic locations around the yard.
Amount of Oxygen Provided by Seven Full-Grown Trees: Enough for 21 People
