10 REASONS TO LOVE TREES
(if you don’t already)
There are SO many reasons to love trees it proves hard to overstate their importance. From transforming life on earth some 300million years ago, to providing food, shelter, oxygen and homes for our wildlife, trees play a huge part in this thing we call life!
Approximately 3trillion trees currently exist, making homes, cities, forests and untouched habitats more enriched with every new growth. But, despite the fact that us, the human race, rely so heavily on these generous giants, we tend to take them for granted. Clearing millions of acres each year for nothing but short term rewards, only creates long term damage like desertification, decline in wildlife and climate change.
But we can’t give up hope! Science has allowed us to understand and use the resources provided to us by trees in order to live more sustainably, aware and conscious of the vulnerable forests, endangered wildlife and the impact we’re having on our own earth.
So here are 10 reasons to love trees, just in case you didn’t already!
1- Trees grow food
All over the world, trees provide us with delicious food that we know and love. Next time you sip on a freshly squeezed glass of OJ, order a plate of smashed avo on toast or cut open a fresh coconut in the middle of summer, remember that these all grew on trees.
2- Trees grow coffee
Before you go visualising a tree full of soy lattes, we’d like to point out that coffee beans come from the coffee cherry which is in fact grown on a tree. Harvested, separated, washed, roasted, ground and poured into a loving cup of morning bliss.
3- Trees keep us cool
Surfaces kept shaded by trees can be 11-25 degrees cooler then surfaces in direct sunlight. Homeowner can use trees to their advantage by keeping their home well shaded by surrounding trees to reduce summer cooling costs. We all know how stinking hot an Aussie summer can be!
4- Trees help us breathe (not just by producing oxygen)
Apart from the very obvious reason why we all know and love trees, these big leafy friends are really good at taking in Carbon Dioxide. What is a natural part of our atmosphere is now at dangerously high levels due to the burning of fossil fuels.
5- Trees provide food and shelter for wildlife
It’s only natural that wherever trees are planted, wildlife and other plants are sure to follow. By providing our wildlife buddies with flowers, fruits, leaves, twigs and other woody parts, trees give many different species the chance to feast on food and source materials in order to make their own little homes.
6- A single tree can home up to 80 species of birds
By planting just a single tree in an open field, you are helping create homes for up to 80 different bird species. But birds aren’t the only ones; native trees create habitat for various wildlife like bats, koalas, bees, owls and the list goes on. Some of these guests offer direct benefits like pollinating our plants, pest control of mozzies and mice, whilst others subtly add to our local biodiversity.
7- Trees release water back into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration
By capturing and storing rainfall from the soil through their roots, they draw the water up and out through their leaves, exiting their canopies. To the human eye this is an invisible process but yet one large oak tree is capable of transpiring 151,000 litres of water back into the environment in just one year!
8- Trees help prevent water pollution
Trees reduce runoff by breaking rainfall, which allows water to flow down the trunk and into the earth below the tree, preventing stormwater from carrying pollutants to the ocean. Let’s not underestimate the power of Mulch either! When used, it can act like a sponge that natural filters water, using it to recharge groundwater supplies.
9- Trees provide us with nature’s soundtrack
Don’t want to pay for Spotify premium? By planting a few extra trees around your home, your ears will have access to nature’s soundtrack. From the sweet lullabies and melodies of bird songs and chirps to the gentle whistle through the leaves on a windy day.
10- Trees can boost your assets
Yep, you heard us! Trees can actually increase the value of your property and/or home by meeting certain criteria such as windbreak, shade, drainage and of course, aesthetics. Bonus points for healthy, mature trees on your property too!
