NVC has embarked on an effort to become a Tree Campus USA college. This is a program sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation and administered locally by Texas Forest Service. This program recognizes colleges and university campuses that effectively manage their campus trees, develop connectivity with the community beyond campus borders to foster healthy urban forests, and strive to engage their student population in service learning forestry projects.
One of the criteria for Tree Campus USA designation requires an annual Arbor Day Observance Event and we have scheduled ours for Monday, November 18 @ 9am-10am on the lakeside of Juniper Hall opposite the Cyber Café. Our campus has a plethora of beautiful healthy trees and we will be planting another at this event as well as learning how to plant a tree correctly and care for it so that it thrives for years to come. In conjunction with learning a little more about the planting and caring for trees, it seems a good time too to be reminded of the environmental, economic and cultural benefits the trees provide to us daily.
Environmental Benefits
- Trees improve air quality by mitigating air pollution and greenhouse gases through photosynthesis that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into nutrients. CO2 is a greenhouse gas, and left unchecked contributes to smog and unhealthy conditions. While it is difficult to quantify exactly how much air a particular tree improves, the US Department of Agriculture found that one acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and emits four tons of oxygen; that is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people. Considering the fact that the average American consumer creates 17.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, we need all the help that trees can give us!
- Trees reduce storm water runoff and improve water quality. Trees can capture large amounts of rain through their root systems and canopies which helps to deter flash flooding and damage to properties due to excess rainwater pooling in streets and properties. faster than sewer systems can handle it.
- Trees reduce the urban heat island effect caused by concrete and large areas of asphalt that trap heat from the sun and reflect it back into the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency suggests that trees reduce this effect by shading large areas and thereby not allowing sun to heat them up. In fact, shade provided by trees may be 20°-45°F cooler than the peak temperatures of unshaded materials. Trees can also reduce the air temperature in the summer through evapotranspiration…yep say that word three times fast! Evapotranspiration is the process by which trees absorb water through their roots and transmit it through their leaves, combined with the process by which they intercept rainfall on their leaves and other surfaces and it is evaporates into the air which then lowers temperatures by using heat from the air to evaporate water. Evapotranspiration can reduce peak summer temperatures by 2°-9° F.
- Trees can reduce and even eliminate erosion because their roots bind to the soil and prevent soil loss.
- Trees promote biodiversity by providing habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. Did you know a single oak tree can support up to 500 species of insects and invertebrate species?
- Trees contribute to the stabilization of watersheds. Tree roots create air pockets within the soil which filters contaminants that would otherwise enter groundwater sources like aquifers, streams, and lakes.
Economic Benefits
- Trees have been shown to increase property values. A 2010 Forest Service study estimated that a neighborhood tree growing along the public right of way added an average of $12,828 to the combined value of all houses within 100 feet.
- Trees help to reduce heating and cooling costs. According to Sustainable Cities Institute, trees can help reduce cooling costs for buildings by 30% and heating costs by 20-50%. Trees, when strategically placed around buildings, provide shade from the sun in the summer months and act as a barrier to wind and snow accumulation in the winter months. Both of these benefits reduce the fuel costs associated with cooling and heating our buildings. The Arbor Day Foundation recommends planting deciduous trees on the east and west sides of your home to provide shade in the summer, but allow sunlight through in the winter.
Cultural Benefits
While the cultural benefits of trees are hard to quantify, trees are essential for quality of life and overall wellbeing.
- Trees help to define a sense of place and provide desirable landscapes by adding aesthetic value and softening an oftentimes harsh urban landscape. Additionally long standing individual trees can underscore regional history, culture and identity.
- Trees encourage community interaction. Greenspaces, such as the type that trees provide, encourage people to gather together thus fostering a sense of community.
- Trees help reduce noise pollution by absorbing and blocking urban noise which has been shown to reduce stress for people living in urban areas.
Trees not only help to create beautiful and healthy spaces but they help set our mind to the well-being of future generations as well. There’s a Chinese Proverb that reads, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.” So, pull out your shovel, shake out those gloves and go plant a tree…or two; your neighborhood and future generations will be glad you did!
Contributed by NVC Staffer Sabrina J. Carey