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Trees are natural pollution control devices - they filter polluted air and create oxygen.
Trees Combat the Greenhouse Effect
Global warming is the result of an excess of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere created primarily by burning fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major greenhouse gas. In the U.S., oil burning cars are the 2nd largest source of CO2. Trees help by absorbing CO2, removing and storing the carbon and then releasing the oxygen back into the air. Trees Clean the Air
Trees also absorb odors and pollutant gases (nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone) and filter particulates out of the air by trapping them in their leaves and bark. Trees Provide Food
An apple tree can yield up to 15-20 bushels of fruit per year and can be planted on the tiniest urban lot. Aside from fruit for humans, trees provide food for birds and wildlife. Trees Provide Protection & Habitat
Trees also provide sound buffering, shade, and measurably cooler temperatures on hot summer days as well as breeding and roosting places for local and migratory birds. Trees Increase Property Value
The beauty of a well-planted property and its surrounding street and neighborhood can raise property values by as much as 15%. Why More Trees
Over the past 16 years, the number of trees in many U.S. cities has declined by about 30% while the space covered by concrete and other solid surfaces has risen by 20%.
Trees For Life and Unity
Green Guerillas and the La Familia Verde Garden Coalition collaborated on the inaugural year of the Trees for Life and Unity Project in the Bronx, a campaign to plant trees in community gardens as living memorials to the victims of 9/11.
Karen Washington heard about the national Living Memorials Project created by the USDA Forest Service, and knew the coalition wanted to be involved. "We wanted to do something constructive to honor the memory of the people we lost to 9/11," she explained. "Our community was directly affected by the events — our local fire company was called to the scene and one of our firefighters died — and we were affected in general because we are New Yorkers. We saw Trees for Life and Unity as an opportunity for us to give something back to our city."
Tree planting across the U.S.
