These ancient “standing ones” have much to teach us, and we have much to celebrate. Trees deserve our admiration and appreciation not only for all the gifts they give but also because they are intrinsically amazing beings in their own right. Photo by Becky Nystrom

Trees are the green guardians of a healthy planet. Their gifts are priceless and essential to life as we know it, but they often go unnoticed and unappreciated. Trees generate the oxygen we breathe, cleanse the air, and filter, detoxify and recycle our water. They hold the earth in place and reduce stormwater runoff and erosion. They provide nesting and resting sites, shelter and food for wildlife, and they host countless life forms among their roots, trunk, branches and leaves. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air, shade and cool our neighborhoods, buffer against the wind, save energy and reduce the impacts of climate change. Their presence enhances business and property values, helps reduce stress and crime, and eases poverty and hunger. Their quiet beauty and grace nourish our spirits and calm and restore the soul. These ancient “standing ones” have much to teach us, and we have much to celebrate.

So what are some leafy details? Many studies have been done to assess the value and benefits of trees, and give a glimpse into the wide-ranging “gifts of the green ones.” Here’s a sampling:

¯ Trees clean our air and save lives. A 2013 USDA Forest Service study found that urban trees and forests save an average of one life every year in cities like Boston, Chicago, Atlanta and Syracuse, and eight lives in New York City. How so? Tree leaves absorb and filter out potentially dangerous fine particulates including dust, soot, exhaust and microscopic metals, which are linked to increased risk for pulmonary inflammation, asthma, accelerated atherosclerosis, and premature death. Foliage also absorbs gaseous irritants such as ozone, nitrous oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxides and volatile organic compounds. The scale of this ecosystem service is large. For example, the Forest Service reports that about 2,000 tons of air pollutants are removed each year by Los Angeles’ urban forest, while 18,000 tons are removed in Chicago! Trees further enhance air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and releasing precious oxygen. One large tree can provide a day’s supply of oxygen for up to four people, while one acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and creates four tons of oxygen each year! Combined with the interception of sunlight and cooling by the canopy, these processes have a significant impact on reducing smog and overall air pollution and improving the quality and health of life everywhere.

¯ Trees improve water quality. Tree canopies and root systems reduce storm water runoff, flooding and erosion, and they help filter and recharge our groundwater supplies. The Alliance for Community Trees (actrees.org) estimates that one million trees save $3.5 million in annual storm water costs. Stream-side forests such as our many CWC wooded wetland preserves, including Dobbins Woods, Loomis Goose Creek, Elm Flats, Chautauqua Lake Outlet Greenway and others, are crucial to the protection and enhancement of downstream water bodies, removing pollutants such as fertilizers and pesticides and reducing siltation and the potential for downstream algal blooms and problematic aquatic weed growth. If we care about our lakes, streams, and ponds, we must also conserve and care about our upland watershed forests and greenways.

¯ Trees save energy, reduce our fuel bills, and fight climate change. They cool the air as water evaporates from leaves and from the shading they provide. Homes sheltered by trees need less energy for cooling, which in turn means lower monthly utility bills and a reduced need for power generation and the burning of fossil fuels by utilities. According to the USDA, the net cooling effect of a healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day. And the National Arbor Day Foundation notes that in just one year, an acre of mature trees absorbs the amount of CO2 produced by a car driven 26,000 miles! Wow! Other studies show global forests remove about a third of fossil fuel emissions each year, and that trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and save 20-50 percent in energy used for heating (USDA Forest Service).

¯ Trees help foster healthy communities and reduce crime. Tree-filled neighborhoods are safer and more sociable and have lower levels of stress and domestic violence. A University of Washington study has shown there is less graffiti, vandalism and littering in outdoor spaces with trees as a part of the natural landscape than in comparable plant-less spaces, and a University of Illinois study found that Chicago public housing residents with nearby trees and natural landscapes reported 25 percent fewer acts of domestic aggression and violence (arborday.org).

¯ Trees deserve our admiration and appreciation, not only for all the gifts they give but also because they are intrinsically amazing beings in their own right. Be sure to plant, care for, and nurture trees, help conserve and protect our local forests, and celebrate the many priceless gifts given freely by the green guardians of our water, land, air, and health. The world is better, and our lives our richer, because they live.

Becky Nystrom is a Professor of Biology at Jamestown Community College, a long-time CWC supporter and volunteer and a founding trustee of the CWC. The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is a local not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the water quality, scenic beauty and ecological health of the lakes, streams, wetlands and watersheds of the Chautauqua region. For more information, call 664-2166 or visit www.chautauquawatershed.org or www.facebook.com/chautauquawatershed.