Benefits of Trees
Trees are just big plants, similar in many ways to dandilions and tulips. The key difference, is in the word: BIG. Trees do things that all plants do: release oxygen, absorb pollutants, look beautiful, but because they're so big, trees make a big environmental impact.
Today, forested areas are only remnants of what was once here - the original forests of oaks, hickory, maple, and pine are mostly gone. Most have been replaced by urban and rural development. Even with the loss of these forests, people still love their trees and tend to plant them where ever they can. With the introduction of many non-native tree species, the biodiversity of the urban forest includes 160 species of trees.
Trees do all kinds of great things:
- Reduce erosion
- Reduce storm water runoff
- Slow wind
- Dissipate sound
- Provide shade
- Absorb dust & heat
- Reduce glare
- Provides food and shelter for wildlife
- Beautify our surroundings
- Absorb carbon & release oxygen
- Provide a spot for your backyard tire swing
Each year one mature, 30' tree gives a family of four enough oxygen for an entire day. That's a cool fact, but lets zoom out a little. That means that every family of four needs 365 trees in order to have enough oxygen for the year, and those trees aren't making any oxygen during the winter!
We all need to do our part to have as many big healthy trees in Brantford as we can.